Blood Stained Bandages
by Mizuchi
Summary: Who is A.B.A? She just appeared out of nowhere, but why is she here? What keeps her going? What is her purpose? We may never get all of these answers, but maybe this story will give you some insight on the life of, or lack of, A.B.A. Chapter 9 now up
1. Blood Stained Bandages

This is my first attempt at fanfiction, and I'm not too good with writing stories. And I'm sorry in advance if I get any information wrong. I tried to research as much as I could about A.B.A. I have added a few things to her story, but the basis is still the same. I just wanted to give her a full story.

Please enjoy!

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Blood Stained Bandages

No, it seemed sitting there shivering wasn't getting her anywhere. She would eventually die if she stayed there in that cold, dark lab. Regardless of the seemingly endless supply of blood for her transfusions, it had to end somewhere, sometime.

Besides, isolation breeds insanity. It wasn't something she knew instinctively, but she did start to feel it. The walls, once so shiny, were getting dull and possessed by the fear, the anger, the sadness someone from before her had felt, though she had no idea the words to describe these feelings. Her creator, a "father" of sorts, was gone. Ten years later, she hadn't forgotten. Even though she wasn't even awake physically when it had happened, she felt it, and it chewed her up from the inside.

But she didn't cry. She didn't know how. Emotions were unknown to her. It is, after all, something said to make us truly human.

But she's not human….

Barely anyone would approach her. Pink fleshed creatures with white drapes surrounding them. They gave her food (which she wouldn't touch) and poked her with sharp things (needles) all while she'd cower in the corner, afraid of the latter. Sometimes they'd talk to her. They'd say things like "Eat up!" or "What's wrong with you?" Then they disappeared. Behind that door. The door of freedom. From her blank, sunken eyes, she saw as the white robed creatures came and went. She didn't have that luxury.

But sitting there, clutching her knees to her chest wouldn't stop the strange sensations from engulfing her. Unfortunately, she had never been anywhere else. This was the only life she had ever known. The sun in her mind was nothing more than alone lightbulb that swung above her when the door closed. She only language she understood was the silent clank of her bed hitting the walls as metal faught metal for space while the camera above her whirred, watching her every move, no matter how trivial. The only colors she recognized were white from her bandages, gray from the steel walls that confined her, and red from the blood she desperately needed but at the same time couldn't use. What kind of a man would create such a monster?

A genius. Yeah, that's what they called him.

Still, she had to leave. To find someone like her. To find a reason for this existance. To live. She stood up, clutching the hospital bed beside her. She winced at the sharp pains that attacked at her. Her wounds, which had never quite closed up from the constant surgery she underwent, seemed to grow even larger. The old blood stains turned vivid. Even her body wanted her to stay. No, not even her body could tell her mind what to do.

Today, A.B.A is going away.

+----------+----------+

Walking through that door was a lot easier than she thought it was. All she had to do was kill that pink colored creature. The metal bar at the foot of her bed came off so easily. He walked in. He said something.

"I don't know why we keep making you anything. You never eat."

Then she hit him. Twice. Three times. With strength you can't find normally. Then the metal pipe fell from her hands. A resounding bang echoed the halls. She could now _see_ the halls. It was no longer a dark void that no one had bothered to fill. It was now something she saw, something she could know for herself. Like a deer in headlights she stood there taking in the sights and sounds—the sights of bright lights, and the sounds of alarms blaring. But the alarms had to urgency to them. Not one she noticed. To her, this was probably something the pink ones heard all the time. Excitement overcame her. She was free.

She couldn't just run out like she wanted to. Using the walls as her crutch (it never passed her mind to use the metal pipe), she followed the corridors in no particular direction. Even the simple walls fascinated her. Her walls were a dingy silver while these where a sterile white. Hers were rough from rust, while these were smooth and untainted by anything, even dents. The outside would was vibrant and full of life.

She was dying.

Which way was out? She didn't care. To her, this was the world she had sought out for so long. Her pulse raced. Her breath quickened. And everyone ran. Towards her.

They all spoke at once. It all sounded like some strange language she had never been taught. They surrounded her.

She kept walking.

Somebody grabbed her. The others took this as the example and followed. She looked around, bewildered. Was this what the outside world was like?

She kept walking.

It was when someone fired at her with a gun that everyone stopped. For a moment, the world went in slow motion. But not A.B.A. She was never a part of the world until now. They hurt. Even to her, this wasn't right. Something clicked in her mind. The key lodged in her head turned. Just slightly. It was when this happened that the pink ones knew the consequences of playing God. Some sort of light engulfed her. It was only for a second, but that was all she needed.

It was on the news, you know. In that little asylum in Fresco, about 14 people died. And one madwoman escaped.

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Mizuchi: One of these days, I'm going to have to not write so disjointedly…. Well, what did you think? It's been a while since I've written any narratives. Please R&R, okay? Thanks!


	2. Gold Tinted Freedom

Okay! I suddenly found inspiration for my next chapter. I didn't think it would be so soon…. Well anyway, I should explain what happened in the last chapter. The last part where A.B.A was engulfed in light, that was reference to the Burst attack. I doubt anyone but me would have even known that…. Oh well, on to the next chapter!

Enjoy!

* * *

Gold Tinted Freedom

"Hey, you alright?"

Sure, A.B.A had escaped, but the trials weren't over. For one, she hadn't realized how entirely different the planet outside her metal walls was. There were colors she had never been given a name for. There were sounds unaccounted for in her mind. The smell of fresh air made her slightly dizzy. She wasn't used to anything.

Of course, that's acceptable.

But now was something new. The sky was bright when she left that little building of origin. Now, everything was dark. And some new pink creature had appeared above her.

"Well? What's wrong with you?"

A.B.A stared above her at the face of this man with a black mustache. It seemed that in all of the excitement, she had neglected to remember one thing: you must rest when you're tired. Fortunately, her body remembered, and once she reached her limit, she collapsed violently. As luck would have it, someone saw her on his way home. Well, that was about 3 hours ago. By now, a crowd of people had surrounded her. Mystified by the morbid sight, many thought she was dead. But someone was convinced he could see her breathing. Of course, no one dared to touch her. She was bleeding profusely, and she would randomly twitch on occasion. No, no one would even think of touching her, let alone carrying her to a better place.

But now, she was awake. And still the people would do nothing.

"Mommy, why are her bandages all red?"

"Who knows, honey. Maybe she hurt herself."

A.B.A sat up and struggled to stand up. No one tried to help her. Her sunken eyes, her grayish skin, her vivacious red hair. She was a demon, sent to Earth to create chaos. Or so the rumors said. All of this only fascinated her more. She walked towards the little pink one. The little girl backed away while her mother stood there, horrified. She wanted to snatch her baby away, but fear froze her in place. A.B.A didn't do anything though. She simply looked at her in wonderment. She had never seen a pink creature wear such a strange color. Brown as we know it. She looked around even more. Then she took a step. It looked strained as if she weren't used to it. The crowd shifted to avoid her trek. Many of them started conversations in whispers.

"What kind of person is she?"

"Well, she certainly looks strange, doesn't she?"

"I've never seen hair or skin like that."

"What does she want from this place? Do you think she's even from around here?"

Anyone A.B.A would look at would cower in fear. Stories had already spread in the short time she was awake. Stories that the blood on her bandages wasn't hers. Stories that she was a human brought back from the dead. Stories that claimed she was Lucifer. Stories that didn't faze A.B.A in the least. She only noticed the way ahead of her. She arbitrarily just started walking in silence, forgetting that her body still needed rest. But her body was glad to remind her. In a simultaneous shut down she found herself doing that thing again. You know, the thing where the floor attacks you suddenly. Falling, that is. And she would have fallen.

If not for the strong hands that grabbed her.

The silent conversations stopped abruptly. No one would take their eyes off of this man who held this so-called person. A.B.A lifted her head gingerly. He was completely different in every aspect. Even she knew this man wasn't like the pink creatures at all. Dressed in all navy blue, including his eyes, he wore small glasses and had the blackest hair ever. A.B.A was overcome by a new feeling—a feeling of security. This one wouldn't try to hurt her. The man looked up with a serious expression.

"You people ought to be ashamed of yourselves."

His voice was smooth like cream, but cut into everyone's skin nonetheless. The man said no more. Instead, he swept the exhausted girl in his arms and walked away. It was only when the man and A.B.A were out of sight that the villagers began their bantering again.

"It's only natural that they meet," one villager gossip said. "Every doctor needs a patient."

* * *

A.B.A stared at the man in awe as he traveled back and forth carrying knickknacks and arbitrary things to other ends of the house.

"I'm so sorry about the mess," he said. "I'm the only one who lives here, so I don't usually clean up too much." He looked up with a charming smile aimed towards A.B.A. She was fascinated even by that simple act. She began imitating it using her fingers. "I wish I could take you to my office, but it's just too far for the wounds you have," he continued. "I'm surprised you made it here still intact." Suddenly, he dropped the box he held in his arms. A thought had struck him. "What is your name?" he asked. A.B.A blinked. He stood there in silence while she looked around, completely unaffected by what he asked. She was, after all, unused to talking back.

He walked to her. "Do you have something I can call you?" he asked. A.B.A felt uneasy. He was getting closer, and usually when the pink creatures got close to her, they would poke her with those sharp things. But there wasn't anything in his hands! No, he was going to hit her like the pink creatures would do when they were upset that she wouldn't eat her food. She cringed and whimpered. The man stopped abruptly. It took a second for A.B.A to realize that he hadn't touched her. She looked up at him. She was surprised to see a different look on his face than the others. He didn't look serious or angry. He looked… sad. "You've been through some bad things, haven't you?" He pulled away and continued shuffling things around. A.B.A was amazed. He really was different. It wasn't just a hunch.

"A.B.A," she said quietly.

The man turned to her. She didn't look as scared as before now. Actually, she didn't look scared at all.

"A.B.A…. Do the letters stand for anything?"

"I don't think so. I don't know."

"Then I'll pronounce it Abba. Is that okay?"

A.B.A nodded excessively. It looked as if her head would fly off at any minute. The man chuckled.

"My name is Julius, and I'm the doctor of this small town." Upon reminding himself that he was indeed a doctor, he suddenly went into a rush to search for supplies. It was in this search that something large fell to the floor. A.B.A couldn't take her eyes off of it. It was a key. The biggest key she had ever laid eyes on. Bigger than the one in her head that controlled her powers. Bigger than the ones the pink creatures used to keep her inside. Keys. They drove her crazy with excitement. Just seeing one—just _imagining _seeing one sent her in a frenzy. Regardless of what her body fought to tell her, there she was, suddenly crouched beside it. Using all of the strength she had she lifted it up and rested it back on the wall.

It had a face. Two big eyes that stared right at her. A mouth that was apparently sewn shut. Golden "skin" where A.B.A could see herself; gold-tinted, of course. This key was the most magnificent key ever. A.B.A couldn't tear herself away from it, even if she wanted to. Of course, she didn't. Keys were her obsession. She was, after all, a key herself. To what, no one knows.

Julius walked out from his closet. He immediately noticed A.B.A fawning over this huge thing.

"Oh, I see you've noticed that interesting trinket of mine," he said, placing bandage wraps onto a desk.

"It is big…." A.B.A said in a broken up speech.

"Ah yes, it's an axe called Flament Nagel. I received it as payment since the man had no money."

A.B.A didn't respond. It was almost as if she had fallen in love with this key.

* * *

Mizuchi: So how was that? A.B.A spoke this time! Hooray! It's not as dark as the first chapter, but I suppose that's because in this chapter there's hope for the little heroine.

Okay, next chapter, A.B.A names her new toy, but what happens to Julius? And I doubt those people in Fresco are going to let her get away so easily. Well, we'll just see what goes on next time. Because… even I don't know.


	3. On Your Silver Wings

Mwahaha, I didn't forget. College killed me, but vacation revived me again. So now I'm out for now, and I've made another chapter. Thanks all to the people that read and commented on my story so far.

Okay, so A.B.A is free

* * *

On Your Silver Wings

"Have you found her yet?"

The voice echoed in the room, even though the room itself wasn't that big or empty. Well at least it didn't look that way.

This room, with all of its exotic trinkets and lavish equipment, wasn't any different from the cells below. It was just as cold, regardless of the fireplace with embers burning inside. It was just as colorless, even though there were hundreds of colors. The only difference was that the owner of this particular room wasn't a prisoner.

Or so he told himself every day.

"Sir, there have been sightings of a unique person due southwest of here," a man in white said officially. He pulled out a pen from his pocket and began writing things down on the paper on his clipboard. There was no reason for this action but to look even more official.

"And what are we going to do about this?" The owner of the room casually paced back and forth behind his desk. It didn't take much effort to make him look official.

"We've already sent some men in search of her, and they will report to us tomorrow afternoon." The man in white stood up straight and stuck the pen back inside of his pocket, and tugged at his lab coat sleeve.

The owner of the room sighed, frustrated at the whole event. He placed his hands on the desk in front of him and glared at the man in white through his thin-rimmed glasses. On his lips was a smile, almost sinister, but at the same time exceptionally calm.

"Just be sure you find her soon," he stated, and his emerald green eyes tacked on an "Or else" at the end.

The man in white just nodded and walked away. No matter how official he looked, he couldn't compare to that man.

Meanwhile, the owner of the room sat down in his fancy looking leather arm chair. He ran his fingers though his long gray hair briefly before setting both elbows on the desk. He didn't move, but a million thoughts ran though his head.

Most of them were of A.B.A.

* * *

From the moment she spotted that large key shaped axe, she wouldn't go anywhere without it being somewhere near her. Even when she finally ventured outside of the doctor's house, she would drag it with her. It took a lot of effort, sure. But I suppose when you're in love, you do crazy things.

Julius kept an eye on her from the window. He was a bit frightened of the locals and how they would treat her. Many still saw her as a monster that would ruin their crops and sour the milk of their cows.

They had neither, but the fear was still there.

But A.B.A was free from the institution, so no locals could stop her. She tried that smiling thing that Julius had done earlier. She still wasn't any good at it, but the more time she spent wandering around, the more she practiced. After all, it seemed natural to do this action when happy.

A.B.A fascinated Julius. She wasn't like any human he had ever seen, female or male. Her behavior was unique, and regardless of the blood she seemed to lose daily, she wouldn't pass out. As a matter of fact, Julius discovered that the blood inside of her wasn't typical blood, but mercury, poisonous to any other being. But she functioned regularly.

As the day progressed, A.B.A started talking a bit more. Not enough, but she would point out things she was amazed by. Such as the big glowing ball in the sky ("That's the sun," Julius told her, "but don't stare at it like that!"), and the liquid inside the bucket Julius had brought from outside ("It's called water, and it's for drinking," Julius said. "Um, please don't put your hands in it so much."), and the soft black cloth not unlike the white ones those pink creatures, which she found out later that they were called "humans", wore back at the institution ("It's a coat to keep us warm when it's cold out," Julius said. "Hmm, it is a bit chilly these days. Perhaps you should wear it when you go outside"). A.B.A was always learning something every minute she spent walking around.

When it started to get dark, Julius called for A.B.A to come inside. Even though no one would touch her, he couldn't shake the feeling that the air was abnormally calm. Something was going to happen, and it couldn't possibly be a good thing.

He handed her a plate of food—a steak and some mashed potatoes. He wasn't exceptionally good at cooking, but his food was edible in the least. He gave her a smile before proceeding to cut a piece of his steak off to eat. A.B.A watched as he brought the small chunk to his mouth and started to chew. She immediately started to imitate it, though very crudely. She couldn't quite grasp the concept of cutting with a knife. Like a child, she stabbed at it and struggled to pull apart a piece with her fork.

Julius smiled warmly and walked over to help her. He wrapped his arms around her and gently guided her hands. A.B.A stared at his hands, taking in every action, no matter how trivial. When he finished, he took a step back. A.B.A held the piece of steak on her fork in the air. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it, and she looked to Julius for help. He only chuckled and motioned to his mouth. A.B.A blinked before glancing at her new key shaped friend. It only stared at the ceiling blankly. A few seconds passed before she slowly lifted the fork to her mouth. The piece of steak slid in easily.

A.B.A was overcome with a new feeling. She had never tasted anything in her life. She let it sit in her mouth before attempting to swallow it. Suddenly there was another feeling, a feeling of pain.

A.B.A didn't know about chewing.

She coughed a bit before it flew back out onto her plate. She stared at it, bewildered.

Julius cocked his head to the side. It was as if she was learning even the basics for the first time. _What could have happened to you, A.B.A? _he thought.

* * *

"So you saw a red haired girl with bandages just here?" the soldier asked. This town had never seen such excitement. First a demon, and now soldiers. Official looking soldiers, I might add.

The woman they asked nodded her head fiercely. "A frightening thing, she was. Covered in blood. They say she killed a hundred people before reaching here."

The soldier rolled his eyes. He hated small towns like this. He shook his head and proceeded to keep asking questions.

"Yes, yes, that's all nice, but where is she now?"

"Oh, that's easy, she's staying with the doctor just down the road!"

Without wasting time, the soldier called to the others and motioned them forward. They finally found her.

* * *

So, she finally mastered chewing, though it took her a few tries. She celebrated by eating more than she had ever eaten. Well, she had never eaten before in her life, but she still ate quite a bit. It was in the middle of her third helping of mashed potatoes that she stopped. The fork in her hand tumbled to the ground, and food splattered everywhere.

Julius and A.B.A abruptly stood up as a unit of soldiers barged in, guns aimed directly at A.B.A.

"You're coming with us," one of the soldiers in the front said. A.B.A couldn't quite understand what was going on, and couldn't see the urgency. Julius stood in front of her, glaring at that soldier coldly. "How dare you come into my home without so much as knocking, demanding that this injured girl follow you at gunpoint," he said, his voice losing its velvety edge from before.

The soldier faltered only for a moment before regaining his composure. "I have orders to bring this girl back to the institution ASAP," he said, though without the force from when he came in. Something about this man was frightening, even though he didn't have any weapons on him.

Julius pushed A.B.A back behind him. A.B.A just looked on from over his shoulder. She was getting that feeling again. The one from when she escaped from the institution. This wasn't right, but she didn't know what 'this' really was. All she could do was gaze at the countless guns, shimmering in the light of the setting sun.

"What's this? You two fall in love?" one of the soldiers joked. Julius glared at him too. It shut him up quickly. No one would do anything for a moment.

Julius looked back at A.B.A from out of the corner of his eye. "A.B.A, you have to leave here right away. Look, I'll distract them, and you run away," he whispered.

One of the soldiers lifted his gun to Julius' chest. "Hey, I heard that! None of that funny stuff, just hand her over, and you won't get hurt."

"You don't seem to understand," Julius said calmly, regaining his composure. "It is my job as a doctor to make sure my patients are well cared for. This is all I am doing. She is seriously hurt. Just let her go." He started to slowly inch backwards, pushing A.B.A with him. If they could just get to his room, they could escape through a window….

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" The first guard fired a warning shot into the air. A.B.A knew that sound. When she was leaving the institution. It was them. _They_ had managed to find her, and they were going to bring her back.

They were going to steal her freedom.

She took a few steps back, trembling. Suddenly, she tripped on her chair leg (as it was lying on the floor from when they stood up earlier). The sudden movement startled the soldier who was aiming his gun at Julius. He fired only once.

Julius fell back with a thud.

A.B.A stood there, trembling. Why was Julius on the ground? But she knew, even though she didn't know why. Julius glanced at A.B.A through his barely open eyes.

"I'm sorry…" was all he could say. No, he couldn't even say it. He could just mouth the words.

The guards surrounded her, inching closer. A.B.A fell to her knees. Her eyes darted in every direction. Something was taking over her. She felt her skin burn, and even her hair hurt. Her eyes were glowing an eerie red not unlike her hair color. The soldiers began to back away. They knew what was happening to her, though they didn't expect her to unleash it just then. They even had a name for it.

A.B.A stood up, no longer struggling with anything. The key in her head was turning madly now. The only sane thing she did was turn, looking directly at her key shaped friend who saw everything. But in her eyes, it wasn't the same sewn mouth face as before. For some reason, it was shaped like a demonic ram. It begged her silently to kill them, to take revenge on all of them.

They came to take her freedom.

They came to destroy her life.

They already killed her only friend.

A slow smile crept unto her face.

* * *

News of the slaughter reached towns everywhere. By the time it had reached the southern lands, the story had turned into nothing but rumors. A demon had come upon earth and slaughtered hundreds of soldiers and innocents, including her lover, a doctor who helped her with her bloody scythe.

That wasn't too unlike what really happened. But she wasn't in love with Julius, though we'll never know if Julius had ever fallen in love with A.B.A.

But where was A.B.A? Many said she just walked away as if nothing happened. Oh, and there was something else a bit strange. Those that claim they saw her say they see her dragging along a giant key shaped axe. They say she's constantly mumbling to herself.

She gave that key a name you know. She calls it "Paracelsus". She's such a strange girl.

* * *

Mizuchi: Ah, so there's chapter 3. BUT IT'S NOT OVER! I mean, who's that gray haired man? And what makes her so powerful? I'm planning on getting to her past sometime soon. Sounds like fun, huh? What do you mean "no"? Just kidding.


	4. Rain From the Sky

Since I already had most of chapter 4 of this story on my other computer, I just printed it out (my other computer doesn't have Internet), retyped it, and finished it up. Thank you, 4 classes on typing. It was a breeze.

So anyway, here's chapter 4. Have a blast.

Why does each chapter have a different feel? Or maybe it's just me...?

* * *

Rain from the Sky

"I don't know how you could manage to fail me." The gray haired owner of the extravagant room shook his head in disapproval. But on his lips was a calm smile. No matter how he smiled though, he always looked evil.

"It seems she tapped into her powers and unleashed them on the soldiers," the man in the lab coat said. He clearly looked nervous at the news he had to give this man. "She killed every one of them."

"And?" The owner of the room tapped his fingers onto the ebony desktop. He was obviously not impressed with what he was being told.

The man in the lab coat cleared his throat, fighting fiercely his instinct to wipe the sweat off of his brow that didn't exist. "And one innocent bystander."

The owner of the room sat back in his chair. What could have made her snap like that? "If I recall," he started, "_he _said she couldn't tap into those powers unless she was emotionally traumatized by something." The man in the lab coat just looked down and shook his head.

A woman walked in holding a folder. She looked professional, dressed in a black dress suit and long dark hair held back in an ebony hair clip. Her heels clicked on the marble floor, and for that moment, it was the only sound anyone could hear. "Here is the information you requested, sir," she said, handing the folder to the owner of the room.

"Thank you, Joanna." He took the folder and began looking at it.

Joanna glanced at the man in the lab coat and smiled before walking out of the room.

"Sir?" the man in the lab coat said. He wasn't quite sure what to do at that moment.

"I want you to contact her creator immediately. I have some questions for him," the owner of the room said, still reading the papers from his folder. The man in the lab coat gasped.

"It's been years since we've even heard from him! For all we know, he could be long dead!"

The owner of the room looked up calmly, but the way he set, no, _threw_ his folder down, you knew he wasn't. "You will find him, and you will bring him to me, do you _understand_?"

The man in the lab coat nodded his head and quickly left the room without further words. Meanwhile, the owner of the room took up the folder again. He pressed a button on his intercom system. "Joanna, are you sure he's the best?"

There was a pause before Joanna responded. "He's an "S" rank bounty hunter," she said. "He's the best in his field. Whatever you want done, he'll get it done. It's no problem, and he's really good at what he does."

The man chuckled to himself before responding. "You sound as if you know him personally."

There was another pause. This time longer. The man knew exactly why. He smiled again before speaking again. "I would like you to contact him right away. Tell him the situation, and tell him I'm willing to pay whatever he wants."

"Yes sir," she responded quickly. "I'll contact Sol Badguy right away."

* * *

And where was A.B.A during all of this time? She was headed due west, dragging Paracelsus behind her. It had been days since she met anyone, so for a while, no one knew where she disappeared to.

Resting was still an unknown thing to her, so she would always keep walking until she passed out, laying on whatever she fell on for hours, and sometimes even days. Then she would get up and walk even more. It was all she knew to do.

And as she was making her way to nowhere in particular, her absence caused even more rumors to spread. Many people were afraid to even let their children outside. And at night, no one was allowed to leave but the men who were supposedly guarding their village. But as days passed with no sign of the demon of Hell, many of these men took to random visits to other women's houses claiming to have "seen" that demon wandering close by. These women were all too happy to let them spend the night to protect them.

A.B.A woke up with a start, staring up at the now night sky. She stood up and began her trek again, picking up the chain wrapped around Paracelsus' neck. With so much free time, she would think about everything that ever happened.

Her daring escape.

Her first encounter with danger.

The first friend she ever made.

The first tragedy.

Her powers released.

And though nothing really made sense to her, she thought about it anyway. She wondered what happened to Julius (death was another unknown thing to her). She also thought about the food she was given. When was she going to get to try that again?

"Paracelsus," she said to her key friend. It responded with a resounding "hello", but only in her mind. "I wonder where the sun went. Do you think it's hiding?" It was this kind of bantering she always did. She didn't really talk about anything in particular. Most of the time, she just talked about all of the things she learned from Julius. She looked back at Paracelsus. "You look cold. I will get you a coat. It will keep you warm when it gets cool out."

That's basically what she said.

* * *

When A.B.A woke up (she had passed out long after her "conversation" with Paracelsus) she noticed that she was in yet another town not unlike the first one she was in. She didn't really notice too much. She just kept walking to the music of metal hitting gravel due to her dragging Paracelsus around.

It was the scream from one of the villagers that caused her to stop in place. Behind her was a plump middle-aged woman rushing to get back home to make dinner for her 5 children and husband. A.B.A looked back at the woman, but it was the bag in her hand that kept her attention. There was something fragrant inside. She inched toward her, but before she even got a foot closer, the woman ran away, dropping the bag in the shadows. Still dragging her key friend with her, she made her way to the bag.

But once she got there, she was startled to find another hand reaching for the same place. She looked up into the eyes of a girl who couldn't have been more than 7 years old. She looked frail and tired, as if she was constantly awake and moving around. The girl looked up into A.B.A's eyes, but didn't seem afraid. They both stood up straight with the girl holding the bag. She reached in and pulled out a round orange ball and handed it to A.B.A. A.B.A took it gingerly, and inspected it. It smelled so sweet, and it looked like the sun. The girl pulled out her own, and A.B.A watched as the girl peeled off the skin and took a bite at the pulpy flesh inside. A.B.A looked at her own orange and tried to imitate the actions. But she got it all mixed up. She took a big bite into her orange. Bitterness mixed with a sugary juice, both of which she seemed to like.

The little girl had never seen anything like that in her entire life. This person, whoever she was, must have been very hungry. They both ate in silence until footsteps alerted the girl's attention.

"I know what I saw, sir!" The housewife had returned with a rather large man with a rifle in his hand. "She had the reddest hair, and the most evil look in her eyes. I can't imagine what she would have done to me had I stayed any longer!"

"Calm down, lady," the man said. This wasn't the first time he had been called on a wild goose chase. Once an elderly lady claimed she saw the red haired demon (it turned out to be a child with a red hat), and before that a little girl saw her too (it was a duck under a blanket someone left outside). This man wasn't convinced this woman even existed. The women around him had nothing better to do but to gossip about sea serpents in wells and ghost maidens that seduced men and stole their souls. For all he knew, this was just another story created in the minds of some 40-something year old wives so bored with their own uneventful lives that they had to create some excitement. Now it was getting out of hand.

The girl took A.B.A's hand and led her behind some boxes. A.B.A wasn't too quick though with her having to take Paracelsus with her. She just barely made it before the man and housewife made it to their original location.

"She was here just a moment ago!" the woman shouted, bewildered. She was sure that the demon was somewhere around. "She looked at me as if she were going to eat me! She held her axe up above her head and screamed that she would have me for her dinner, and she would have killed me too! But I was just too fast for her. She must have gone elsewhere once I lost her!"

The man shook his head in disbelief. Just 30 seconds ago, the woman had claimed that the demon sprouted wings and claimed she was the grim reaper come to redeem souls for her master.

The girl looked on at them and giggled silently. The women of this town were so ridiculous. She shifted herself so that she could get a better look of things, and accidentally knocked over a box in the process. She gasped and cowered back.

The man and housewife looked over. "See? I told you! The demon was hiding all along!"

The man waved his hand at the housewife and slowly made his way towards the toppled box. The girl shook uncontrollably. She was more worried what they would do to her if they found her. And what of this bandaged girl? She looked so sickly. Would they hurt her like they did the others?

The man was just too close. What could either of them do? But as if on cue, something leaped out at the man. With a yelp, he instinctively pointed his gun at it and fired at it. But after a few seconds, he finally saw it clearly. It was just a tabby with a rat in his mouth, and now it was long dead.

A.B.A froze again, covering her ears from the sound. She had grown to hate the sound of gunshots. She knew what they meant. She now trembled, her eyes darting all over the place. The girl noticed. With the two out there staring at the dead cat, she made her way quickly over to the frightened A.B.A. She placed a hand on A.B.A's arm. It made her jump for a second, but after looking into the girl's worried eyes, she slowly started to calm down. Her eyes reminded A.B.A of Julius. Except sadder. They looked at each other in silence.

"See, lady? Now your demon is taken care of," the man said cynically. He scoffed and walked away, leaving the cat lying there. The woman waved her hands frantically. "I know what I saw! She was here! You just have to believe me!"

The housewife followed closely behind the man trying to convince him of what she encountered. The man only wished the housewife could have been someone younger and a lot cuter.

They were long forgotten by now, so it was safe for them both to come out. The girl stood up and walked out, checking to see if the coast was clear. A.B.A slowly followed out, leaving Paracelsus behind. She knelt down by the cat. A pool of blood formed and slowly grew. The rat in his mouth tumbled out. It seemed it was still alive, but just barely. It crawled away little by little until finally it gave up and collapsed there, just a yard away from it's origin.

Only one word would echo in her mind. Julius. Julius. Julius. She felt something like a vice gripping her heart, and she clutched her chest in reaction. Yet another thing unknown to her—emotions.

The girl outstretched her hand. A.B.A looked up slowly. The girl wouldn't look down. Tears fell from her sky blue eyes. One single tear landed onto A.B.A's hand. She looked at it as it rolled off onto the cat's fur. Not knowing what else to do, she took her hand and grabbed Paracelsus' chain and followed in silence.

* * *

No one made an entrance quite like him. Dressed in blood red and the cleanest white, he walked as if he owned everything in his path. He flashed a smile at every female he encountered. Some pretended not to see him. Still others blushed at the small attention he gave them. He chuckled and kept walking along. Nothing on this guy was typical. Not even his hazel eyes. They told stories.

He approached Joanna's desk, but he had no need to announce himself. Joanna glanced up from her computer screen for a second and continued typing before she realized who it was. She stood up abruptly and started to blush insanely. "So- Mr. Badguy, y-you're here already!" she stammered, obviously flustered by this towering figure. He grinned and placed his hand under her chin. "Please, Miss Joanna, you should know me well enough by now to call me 'Sol', right?"

Joanna blushed once again before struggling to find the intercom button all without looking away. Once she found it, she almost couldn't speak, but she did manage to say "S-sir, Sol Badguy…."

Abruptly, the owner of the room walked out, almost as if he were waiting by the door for Sol's arrival. "Ah, Sol, it's good to see you."

"Let's get this over with, old man," Sol said. He usually wasn't interested in speaking to guys, but this one was talking money, and this was a language he knew fluently. "And call me 'Mr. Badguy', got that?" He walked into the extravagant office.

The owner of the room glared at his guest, but said nothing, and quickly, he replaced his look with a smile. Either way…. He followed closely behind Sol.

Joanna sunk back into her seat, reveling in Sol's touch. It had been months since she had last been with him. Maybe it was time to pay him a visit sometime soon. She could just tell her fiancé that she was busy at work.

"Mr. Badguy," the owner of the room said with a smile. Sol wouldn't smile back. "Would you like a drink, sir?"

"Get to the point, old man." Sol rolled his eyes. "The longer you keep me waiting, the farther she's getting, and the farther she gets, the longer it'll take me to find her. You do know that I charge not only based on how hard the target is to get but how long it takes to get it, right?"

The owner of the room growled under his breath. But, if this was the best bounty hunter by far, he had no choice but to be nice. "Mr. Badguy, one of our… 'patients' got out, and I would like for you to bring her back."

Sol gave him an incredulous look. "You're sending me on some search mission? You've got to be kidding me. What's next? Finding the cat you lost three years ago? I'm out of here." He stood up and proceeded to walk out of the room.

"_Wait_," the owner of the room said. Sol sighed and looked back. "This is not a simple mission." Sol slowly turned around and stared back cynically. "This patient is one of our GRS subjects." The man tossed a manila folder at him, which Sol expertly caught. He looked inside. There was a picture of a girl, possibly 8, with bright red hair. She smiled warmly in this picture as she held the hand of another man. Papers clipped to this picture contained some stats and some more medical words that Sol didn't care to read or understand. But it was the last page that caught his attention. "Subject is responding erratically to procedures, exhibits behavior not unlike a Gear, it is imperative that Subject A.B.A is not put under any emotional strains. Place her in solitary confinement with minimal amount of human interface."

Below all of the notes and type, there was red ink. The script was messy and almost indistinguishable, but there was one part Sol could read.

"Warning: if she becomes emotionally traumatized, she could tap into her dormant powers and easily destroy a village. Please, proceed with caution."

* * *

Mizuchi: That last part most likely has **nothing** to do with her real story, but doesn't it sound cool? Anyway, the original plan was to just create some arbitrary bounty hunter, but at the last minute, I figured Sol Badguy would be the perfect addition to my little story. Who knows what other nice GG characters will appear? Slayer? Testament? Millia? May? I have absolutely no clue. Until next time, kiddies.


	5. Perfect Shades of Grey

Thanks Daemonmaker Kyoujin for kind of kicking me back in place. I originally just stopped when I didn't know where to go with the story. Then I figured it out, but I got lazy and started… not finishing.

I decided to go a little more into how I view Sol. He almost took over the chapter too.

Oh yeah, and there's a semi-sexual scene. I could tell you to beware or something, but 1.) I didn't go into detail with anything, 2.) It's already over with, and 3.) You wouldn't listen to me anyway. All I'm saying is don't go getting me into trouble with anything.

And yeah, I know, Sol's supposed to be all stoic and silent. My reasoning is that he goes into "silent killer" mode when he's working. And when he's not making the ladies happy. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this way gives him a little more just the "I like killing things, yay!" kind of person.

Man, if I could get the fabric, I would totally make a Sol Badguy costume for myself…. But I digress….

You'll never guess whom I've decided to add (it was so obvious too).

Boring part is over.

* * *

Perfect Shades of Gray

"I'm sorry, honey, but ever since that girl escaped, I've been swamped with paper work. I'm probably not going to get in until too late."

That's what Joanna told her fiancé at 6:30pm.

It was now just past midnight.

And currently she was searching for her pantyhose on the hotel room floor.

Her visit with Sol came a bit earlier than anticipated, but on impulse, she requested they see each other again. Sol was all too happy to oblige. Repeatedly. Now having done his job, he relaxed on the bed, legs wide open, leaving nothing to the imagination.

But you, my dear readers, still need yours, I suppose.

He yawned casually as he watched her frantically search for various articles of clothing. So far, she was still missing a shoe and her blouse. And of course, that elusive pair of pantyhose.

"Try looking by the T.V.," he said casually, "I'm pretty sure that's where you tossed it." She followed his advice and checked. Sure enough, it had fallen behind the desk that the television was sitting on. She strained just a bit before finally reaching it. She shook the dust off and walked over to the edge of the bed to put it on. "So how is old Robert these days?" he asked.

Joanna looked at Sol, a bit startled that he would mention her fiancé's name. "Please, I feel bad enough that I gave into this temptation, and I would rather you don't talk about him right now," she said, not even able to completely look at him in the eye. She sighed and struggled to put on her pantyhose—only to realize they were on backwards.

"Heh, you weren't feeling so bad when you begged me to take you," Sol said, placing his arms behind his head. Joanna blushed. It was times like these she wondered what attracted him to her in the first place. After all, this was the kind of guy he was. He was rude. He was vulgar. He had no respect for anyone.

But he was really good in bed.

And for that reason alone, Joanna, even with her marriage coming up in a couple months, could not stop thinking about this guy. Even when she was with her fiancé, she would have to do everything in her power keep from calling Sol's name during her moment of passion. But Sol wasn't the type to take one girl into his life. There just wasn't one girl who could take him on. So he took all of them. Single, engaged, married. If he wanted them, he had them. And that's how they liked it.

Joanna finally managed to put her pantyhose on (correctly) and proceeded to scan the room for her blouse.

Meanwhile, Sol sat up and crawled up to Joanna. Reaching his arms around her, he proceeded to lightly touch her stomach. She resisted the urge to fall back into his arms for another go. Instead, she pushed his arms away and stood up.

"Make yourself useful and help me find my blouse," she said, trying to sound serious. Inside, her heart was pounding, and she wanted desperately to just let him have his way. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be fair to Robert. Not that all of the other times were.

Sol pulled out a white blouse out from under his pillow. "You mean this thing?" He balled it up and set it behind him.

"No! Don't do that! I'll become wrinkled that way!" She lunged at him, trying to take it from behind him. Sol grinned as he let the game begin. Using one arm to keep her blouse away from her, he used his other arm to reach around her back and unhook her bra. It tumbled onto the bed, leaving her to instinctively blush. But with her hair cascading around her face and tumbling over her chest, he couldn't see anything worth seeing. Sol scowled as he tossed her blouse back at her.

Joanna sighed. This was the kind of thing he always did to her, and probably many others. She wondered how many fell for it. "Wasn't three times enough for you?" she said, annoyed. "By all standards, you should be exhausted by now."

Sol chuckled. "But you of all people should know I don't follow any standards. Or should I remind you?" He leaned back, grinning again.

All Joanna could do was shake her head. He was certainly arrogant, that's for sure, and that was one of the qualities she didn't like about him. Fortunately, they barely had the time to talk with what they did.

Sol rolled over to his side, still grinning. "You know, out of all of the girls I've been with, you're my favorite."

Joanna wasn't convinced. "How many girls have you said that to this month?" she asked.

"Only 5, but I was lying to them."

She laughed. "How many girls have to said _that_ to?" Sol could be an overconfident jerk sometimes, but in the end, he always managed to make her smile.

She finally had everything on. She inspected herself in the hallway mirror before going on to find her bag and leave. Sol stood up and followed her (still uncovered, mind you) to the door. She reached for the handle of the door, but stopped. "Look, I know you're the best bounty hunter around here, but…." She looked back at him, on the verge of crying. "I have to let you know that she's not just some gun slinging escapee from jail like most of your other targets. This girl could quite possibly be more powerful than you, and you could get killed if you're not careful."

Sol's face got serious. Usually he would have just shrugged and said something about how no one could take him down. But this time, he wasn't so sure. If what those papers said about her were true, this mission could be his most difficult ever. Then he let his conceited grin return. "Don't worry about me, baby," he said, leaning against the wall. "I'll figure something out." He then met her eyes, staring intensely at her. "You know, you really are my favorite. As a matter of fact, if you weren't engaged, I'd probably take you myself!"

"Liar," she said, laughing. She gave him a kiss before finally leaving. Half out of the door, he watched as she walked down the hallway and around a corner. Then he looked the other way. Right there was an elderly maid, pushing a cart of plates and silverware. Or at least, she was until she noticed Sol standing there in all of his glory. He chuckled.

"Good evening, ma'am," he said. "Ah, but technically, it is morning. Oh well." And he went back into his room leaving the dazed maid to create her own stories to tell her friends.

* * *

The girl led A.B.A some time before they finally reached their destination. It was a rather large but crudely made shack with a large piece of wood for a door. This place was exponentially different from the first house she had seen. The girl ran inside, leaving A.B.A outside. It was a few moments before she followed, setting Paracelsus outside (since there was nowhere to put him inside).

The outside was definitely a reflection of the inside. It was cramped and dark, with random oil lamps scattered about for light. A few other children stared at her as she walked past, being led by this girl. They didn't look disgusted or suspicious. Just tired and hungry. The two of them didn't have to go too far before they approached a room, seemingly the only room in their place. The room wasn't too different from where she was currently, but with all of the other children (which there had to be about twelve all huddled around a long table) completely crowded in one corner, this room had to be important. Even A.B.A, with her lack of knowledge on the world, could tell that this was some sort of honor to even be allowed to look inside.

A.B.A took a few steps inside while the little girl followed, placing a large wooden board over the doorway. There was a bed, apparently the only bed in that whole place. There was also a window, or rather, a large square covered in paper, yellowed by age. Sitting in the corner of the bed was an older girl with short brown hair. She hugged her knees to her chest and looked up at the paper. Her face was smudged with dirt, obviously built up over many weeks. She casually looked up at A.B.A before looking at the little girl.

The little girl, meanwhile, handed her the bag of food. The short-haired girl rummaged though the bag before pulling out a loaf of bread and giving the little girl the bag back. "Distribute the food to the others," she said. Her voice sounded sad, but strong. She then looked up at A.B.A. "What is your name?" she asked.

"A.B.A," she said, pronouncing it just as Julius had.

The short-haired girl cocked her head. "Marianna, why did you bring her?"

Marianna's eye's lit up. "She got the food for us!" she said happily. Her voice was small and cute. It was impossible to believe that anyone would abandon her.

The short-haired girl looked at Marianna, then A.B.A. A.B.A just looked around. She started to feel herself getting tired as well. The short-haired girl only sighed. "Well, thank you," she said. Then she turned to Marianna. "Alright, now tell her to leave."

Marianna's eyes widened. "No! She's even hungrier than we are! She's an adult too! Can't she stay with us?" Marianna looked as if she were going to cry. In her short time with A.B.A, she was clearly very attached to her.

The short-haired girl sighed again. "She can stay with us only for a few days. You know that the more people stay here, the less we all get to eat." The short-haired girl went back into her previous position.

"Thank you!" Marianna practically jumped into the air as she took A.B.A's hand and moved the wooden board away. Taking A.B.A's hand in her small one, Marianna led her out. The short-haired girl just watched blankly as the wooden plank was moved back. She sighed automatically. This was probably the woman the others in the village were afraid of. At the very least, if word did get out that they had become friends with her, they would probably leave them alone. For once.

* * *

A.B.A's new friends were just as nice as Julius, but with so much less. But A.B.A didn't clearly know the difference between rich or poor. She only knew that these people were nice to her just as Julius was. A little boy with a dirty face (he promptly introduced himself as Jeremy) gave her something he called grapes. She found them delicious. A somewhat older girl (she was introduced as Lisa by Marianna since she was so shy) handed her some somewhat stale bread. She found that delicious. Even the gruel that the blonde haired boy (with a friendly smile, he introduced himself as Brent) shared with her was delicious. A.B.A discovered that she liked food in general.

A.B.A did notice that she didn't see the short-haired girl anymore. Sometimes one of the children would go in bringing food, but usually they came right out and played with A.B.A some more. This moment gave A.B.A the chance to practice smiling, which she found herself doing more every time the children came around her. The hours melted into days, and the original plan of making A.B.A leave dissolved into having her join their group. The short-haired girl (who Marianna later told her was named Cherie) didn't bother to do anything about it. Word did indeed get out that the red-haired demon made her home with them. It turned out that even the men who "protected" the village were afraid of her. But they claimed that she was no threat until she came into the village. This way, they wouldn't have to find out firsthand if the rumors were true.

It was during one of the warmer days that something happened. The children couldn't bear to stay indoors on such a clear day. A.B.A and Paracelsus came out too; both watching as the children played a game called 'Tag'. Someone would touch someone else and then they'd all run from them. It was an interesting game to watch. A.B.A always thought that being chased was something to fear. But these children were smiling and laughing. Maybe they were doing something different. A.B.A couldn't tell, but she didn't mind. It was just great to be happy again.

But slowly, she found herself getting more exhausted, even though she was just standing there. She couldn't figure out why. She hadn't been walking nonstop like before. She opened her mouth and let out a silent cry. Then she clutched her waist and fell to the floor.

* * *

When A.B.A came to, she found herself staring at mismatched pieces of ceiling. She sat up, a little too fast though. She clutched her head and felt her eyes spinning.

"You're awake!" Marianna's small voice shrieked. Some of the other children stood up from their spots in various places. Children's faces surrounded her. A.B.A wasn't sure how she got there or why the people around her looked so concerned. It was then that Cherie emerged between some children.

"She's losing too much blood," she said. "Theodore, get some more bandages. Erica and Michelle, wash her clothes. Lisa, go with Jeremy and find some food in the village. The rest of you, I want you to make sure she's comfortable. I'm going to go find the doctor." The other children stared at Cherie. They knew the doctor she meant.

The children went on their missions while Marianna helped Cherie gather some things for her little trip. A.B.A had no choice but to stay there and think about everything. These little children were so nice to her. She wished there was something she could do for them.

But before Cherie could leave or A.B.A could figure out something to do, Lisa burst in, sobbing with Jeremy shortly behind.

"What did you do, Jeremy?" Marianna asked in her cute, concerned voice.

Jeremy looked up, his eyes wide with terror. "There's this big man, looking for A.B.A. He's got a sword. I think he's here to hurt her!"

Cherie shook everything out of the bag and started filling it with other things. "Then we have to get her out of here," she said, placing some apples in one of the pouches.

Marianna ran to A.B.A and pulled her up. "A.B.A, you have to get out of here right away!" A.B.A didn't protest. She didn't know to. She just stood up and took the bag Cherie handed her.

Cherie looked directly into A.B.A's eyes. "I want you to follow Marianna to the doctor, okay? She'll help you." A.B.A seemed to understand. Something was happening. It was Julius all over again. She couldn't really tell, but she knew things were going wrong again.

Cherie turned around. "We have to make sure A.B.A gets away, so we're going to have to stall for time." The other children knew exactly what to do. A.B.A was one of them now, so they were going to do whatever they could to help protect her.

The children flowed out. There were only 14 of them, but it was everything they had. Some of the boys had sticks and rocks. Many of the little girls grouped together. Cherie stood before the frontlines. She didn't have anything in her hands, but they stood there silently waiting for the man with the sword to come up.

Meanwhile, A.B.A and Marianna sneaked out behind them all, half walking, half running. Hand in hand, A.B.A dragged Paracelsus, while Marianna held the bag of food and supplies. It was too heavy for her, but she couldn't care less. A.B.A's life was much more important to her than her own well being.

The children didn't have to wait too long. Shortly after Marianna and A.B.A left, the man with the sword came strolling over the horizon. The sooner he found Project GRS, the sooner he got his money and could go on to something more fun.

Sol saw the army of children, standing there looking determined. At first, he didn't think much about it. Many of the men and women in the village said it was a fact that the "red- haired demon" lived out here, and that was all he cared about. But as he got closer, the way they were organized caught his attention. This wasn't just a group of kids playing around. No, this was a plan. They were protecting something.

Sol stood in front of Cherie. Well, more like towered over her. But she didn't waiver. With her arms crossed, she stood there, defying his silent commands to back away.

"The girl's been here," he said blankly.

"And she'll leave here too," Cherie replied.

The other children inched closer. They were waiting to see what this man would do.

Sol sighed. He didn't really have time for this. They were obviously protecting her for some reason. How dangerous could A.B.A the babysitter really be? If a bunch of children could tame her, it couldn't possibly be a problem to capture her.

He took another step forward, slightly pushing Cherie aside. The other children prepared to fight back, but Cherie signaled them to step back. "You will not find her," she said. Sol snorted. This was becoming amusing. Even if they fought back, they couldn't hurt him, but still, they were children. Some of them were trembling. A few of the younger boys and girls were hiding behind taller ones. Most of them looked nervous. There wasn't much they could do to him. He kept walking.

But Cherie cut him off. "You cannot pass!" she said forcefully. The battle was beginning.

Sol leaned over to meet her face. "What will you do, little girl?" he asked. They stared at each other in silence before Cherie finally lost her strength. The intimidating way he looked down to her made her feel like a little girl. It was just like when she used to live with her dad. It was that look that often led to a smack to the face. She backed away just slightly, and Sol knew he had won this mental battle. He pushed her aside.

He barely got 2 steps away before Cherie gave the signal. Fourteen girls and boys surrounded him. A few rocks hit his back and someone hit his arm with a stick. Nothing hurt him, but it was rather annoying. Still, they were just children. He wouldn't strike them. There were too many who were too persistent to just walk through them. He had to think of something. That's when it struck him. He knew what to do.

Sliding his weapon against the ground, it caught on fire. Then with a toss, he threw it.

No one was hurt. At least, not physically.

Smoke rose to the air. In a large blaze of flames, their home was engulfed. Forgetting their battle, the children rushed to the house, trying to smother the flames with sand and dirt from the ground. A few of the younger children cried.

But Cherie just stood there. There wasn't anything she or anyone could do. Everything they had was inside. Now they were right back to the beginning. They had nothing all over again.

Sol walked past the children and pulled his weapon out of a wooden plank. He glanced at the crying children. This wasn't really his style, but he had no choice.

He made a mental note to come back later and get them a new home.

* * *

Marianna and A.B.A couldn't see the smoke. They couldn't look back. What was important was getting A.B.A to the doctor and away from the man with the sword. But Sol was pretty fast for being a big guy. The children had only managed to buy a few minutes. He caught up with them in only moments.

"You there," Sol shouted. A.B.A looked back, but Marianna pulled her harder.

"We have to get away!" she shouted.

Sol kept walking their way. He was moving so fast for just walking that he was overtaking them even though they were running.

Finally, Marianna couldn't go any further. She abruptly stopped, and A.B.A almost ran into her. She handed A.B.A the bag of supplies. "I'm going to stop him, okay? You have to keep going that way." A.B.A stared at her. She didn't know what to do. Marianna pointed her finger toward a direction, and then pushed A.B.A forward. A.B.A looked back at Marianna, but she no longer looked her way. "Keep going that way, and you'll reach a town. Look for a really tall man with a large scalpel. His name is Dr. Baldhead. He can help you." Then without another look back, she darted at Sol.

The little girl only served to catch him off guard. He was irritated. There she was, standing there, and the only thing between them was a little girl who wouldn't stop pounding on him. "Go away! You can't hurt her! She's my best friend!" Marianna's sky blue eyes glittered with tears. She sobbed aloud.

Then Sol backhanded her. It wasn't enough to really hurt her, though she probably would have a mild bruise on her cheek. She flew a foot away and slumped to the ground.

A.B.A felt that burning rage again. Her eyes flashed red. She took a step back. Faces scrolled through her mind. Marianna. Cherie. Julius. A single tear streamed down her face as she took up Paracelsus. She remembered this feeling, and she knew exactly what to do. At full speed, she took on Sol, and she didn't even realize it.

* * *

The owner of the room just sat there at his desk. There wasn't anything for him to do. Sol was out looking for A.B.A. There were no other problems with other inmates. Today was just another uneventful day.

Moments after he came to that conclusion, the man in the white lab coat came in. He didn't knock, nor did he bother to announce his arrival. Joanna followed shortly behind. "I'm sorry sir, I tried to stop him," she said. She looked away.

The man just sighed. "It's okay, I'll deal with this," he said. Joanna nodded and walked away, closing the door behind her.

The man then looked at the lab coat man. He didn't look angry or frustrated. "There had better be a good reason for this intrusion," he said, his voice strangely calm.

"There was an analysis of the casualties from that home… well, casualty." The lab coat man handed him a folder. The man didn't bother to look at it, so the lab coat man decided to finish. "His name was Julius Aiton. He was the local doctor of that village. A very respectable man there."

"Get to the point," the man said. He didn't sound particularly annoyed, but the lab coat man continued anyway.

"The cause of death wasn't like the others. It appears he was shot. By guns issued to our soldiers."

The man shook his head. So A.B.A had no part in his death. But why would she spare him?

The lab coat man finished. "We did even more research, and we found out that A.B.A actually lived with this man for a few days."

Something wasn't right. There was no way that this girl who couldn't think on her own could know who to attack and who to protect. The scientists were sure they erased her mind of all instincts. How could she figure something like this out? There was a reason she spared this man. There was a reason the others in the village lived. Everything was wrong in this picture.

"Any word from Sol?" the man asked.

"Last we heard, he was on her trail. I'm certain we'll get Project GRS back soon."

The man waved his hand nonchalantly. The lab coat man took this as a hint and left, but suddenly he stopped.

"I think A.B.A is starting to regain her original instincts. If she does, she might just remember who she used to be."

The man didn't respond. It was something he was afraid of. If she remembered who she was, that means she would remember how she got there. Then there would be nothing to stop her.

"Oh, and also," the man in the lab coat started. It brought the man out of his thoughts. "Her creator can't be found anymore. We've sent some men over to investigate where he is."

The man wished for the moments before he came in, when there was nothing to do.

* * *

Mizuchi: So, the next story is going to include the eccentric Dr. Baldhead, AKA Faust (cause we all know they've got to be the same person). It was one of "those slap to the forehead" moments when I went "Of course, she needs a doctor, and Faust **is** one." I'm not sure who else will show up, but I'm sure both of us will have fun finding out. Until I figure out what to do.


	6. Unconventional Use of Lighting

This is the first time I've had Internet in **11 months!**1.2s Sorry guys.

I typed this completely different idea for this chapter, and I couldn't take it. Ew. You wouldn't have liked it.

A.B.A's getting smarter. Did you notice?

* * *

Unconventional Use of Lighting

A.B.A came charging at Sol, who almost didn't see it coming.

He barely had enough time to block her attack, but even then, it wasn't enough. A.B.A took a swing at Sol's head. Then again into his side. Her eyes flashed just for a second before she rammed Paracelsus right into his stomach, sending him flying.

* * *

Sol sat up with a start only to be forced back down by his body. He winced in pain. This girl, whatever she was, was even stronger than he had anticipated.

But he was grateful she used the blunt end of her weapon instead of the bladed side.

"You're finally awake."

The voice came from Cherie, who was somewhat preoccupied with trying to open the blinds. Sol attempted to sit up again with great strain. Still, it was nothing compared to the abuse that kid named Ky put him through.

"Be careful," Cherie said, not even looking at Sol. "A.B.A got you pretty good there. I don't know what you did to make her so angry, but she certainly made you pay for it."

Sol still didn't say anything. He _was_ pretty harsh in handling that little girl A.B.A was with. Though something still confused him. A bunch of little kids could live with her for weeks, but he couldn't spend 10 minutes around her. And he was the one to get pounded for it. Maybe she didn't attack children. If that were the case, she couldn't have been as sadistic as everyone made her out to be.

Whatever the case was, A.B.A was getting away while he was lying there. At least it wouldn't take him that long to heal.

He struggled to stand up. Cherie didn't bother to stop him. If it were up to her, she would have just left him lying there where A.B.A defeated him. It was, after all, his own fault for provoking A.B.A in the first place.

Sol made his way into the living room. It was nicely decorated. By how well everything looked, he concluded that this was one of the villagers' houses. He immediately noticed the little girl from before. She had a band-aid on her arm—probably from when he pushed her. But she seemed very happy and she didn't seem to be hurt any further than that.

She was playing with an older girl, someone he hadn't seen before. This girl was probably the owner of this house. She looked up and smiled.

"Our guest is finally awake," the older girl said, smiling. The little girl looked up only briefly before turning away. She was still a little scared of Sol. The older girl walked over to Sol and stuck out her hand. "My name is Lydia. Marianna brought you here." Sol glanced at Marianna who was still turned away. "Well, she didn't really bring you, of course. She told us you tried to fight that woman with the red hair."

Sol gave a half smile. "Heh, 'tried' and failed. She's pretty strong for her size."

Lydia smiled before walking off. "You're probably hungry by now. I'll bring you something to eat, okay?" In an almost motherly way, she sauntered off towards the kitchen.

Sol sat in a chair next to Marianna. She still wouldn't look at him. "So you got me here, huh?" Sol asked. He was trying to make conversation, but she obviously didn't want to take any part in it. Sol didn't really care. He just kept talking. "After everything I've done, you still helped me. You're a pretty naïve girl."

Marianna's eyes filled with tears. "I don't have anything." She looked up, though not at Sol. "But being mad at everyone who takes what I do have away won't change what they've done. At least if I'm nice, I won't have any regrets…." There was a small pause before she barely uttered "It's not easy anymore."

Those were the last words she ever said to him.

* * *

The wind was picking up. The somewhat warmer months A.B.A had been accustomed to was now replaced with below temperature weather. A.B.A was freezing, but the now falling snow had captured her attentions. She spent her walk staring up at the clouds as large fluffy white pieces of the sky floated into her hair and onto her face.

The town she finally got to was completely empty. Everyone in the town was either inside or visiting people in other towns. Nobody liked being in snow like this but the children. Now it was night time. Even the children had to stay indoors. A.B.A didn't even know the difference.

She walked along the indistinguishable path creating fresh footprints. Something about stepping on snow that hadn't been touched gave her satisfaction.

Not that she knew what satisfaction meant.

The more snow fell, the harder it became to drag Paracelsus around. Even she found it cumbersome. She had to find somewhere to sit and rest, not to mention someplace to warm up. She had to find this Faust guy fast.

An elderly woman stepped outside just a few steps ahead of her. It seemed she was trying to gather some firewood to heat up her house. But she couldn't pick them up. Instead, they all tumbled from their pyramid formation. The elderly woman just sighed and struggled to put them back up.

A.B.A instinctively released Paracelsus and started to help her. At first the woman didn't notice until she saw the extra pair of hands. She looked up only to end up staring into A.B.A's face. A.B.A wasn't looking at her. She just kept putting the firewood back until they were all put up. The elderly woman just smiled. Most people her age and gender didn't pay much attention with her. They would usually pretend they didn't see her, or make someone else help out. She had heard gossip of the red haired demon, but she wasn't anything like the rumors.

A.B.A picked out 3 pieces of wood, then looked at the elderly woman for more instructions. The elderly woman noticed that this girl, as frail and weak as she looked, didn't look like she was having a hard time holding the logs at all. She led A.B.A inside.

"Just set them over there, dear," the elderly woman said. A.B.A obeyed and placed them inside the fireplace. Even without the fire, it was considerably warmer in this place than outside. A.B.A rubbed her arms before making her way back outside.

"Oh please, don't leave right away!" the elderly woman said. "I'm making some soup. At least stay a little while. Warm up and eat. You must be freezing in those clothes… bandages…?" It didn't take too much longer for the elderly woman to realize that this woman was indeed the one from the stories. But she didn't look evil or bloodthirsty. No, she looked lost… and cold. "Please, call me Mrs. Lumines. What is your name, dearie?"

"A.B.A." A.B.A said. She took a seat in a soft looking chair, completely forgetting about poor Paracelsus outside at the mere mention of eating.

* * *

The owner of the elaborate room surprised Joanna. She'd never seen him outside of his room. Not that she was foolish enough to believe he never left it. Just, whenever she was working, he was there when she came in for work and still in there when she left to go home. There were even some days when she would come back in the middle of the night to pick up some documents or to leave some. And wouldn't you know she'd see a stream of light under the closed door. Maybe he left it on to make others think he was still around, but she couldn't believe that he would just do that for fun. Whatever the case was, there he was walking around. Joanna tried not to make it a big deal. Just, it really stood out in her mind.

Meanwhile the owner of the room was pacing. He had been hearing nothing but bad things lately about the retrieval of A.B.A and now, the man in the lab coat was supposed to come and tell him if anything had changed or come up with that and the search for her creator. But as you could tell, he was late. Very late. Probably because of all the clearance he had to go through. Ever since A.B.A had escaped, there was more security, more locks, and more surveillance. Even though no other subject in that place was as important as the subject of Project GRS herself.

Eventually, the man in the lab coat did appear, though he didn't look too happy.

"I take it things aren't going to plan," the owner of the room said.

The man in the lab coat just shook his head grimly. "We just got word that Sol has been attacked by A.B.A."

The owner of the room just sighed. Even the best bounty hunter fell at her hands.

"But he's not terribly injured," the man in the lab coat continued. "I'm sure he'll be better in no time."

Joanna momentarily looked up before looking back at her computer.

"And A.B.A's creator?"

The man in the lab coat paused for a moment. "We did find him, but he's not coming willingly. He says he wants nothing to do with us."

"Well, make sure he knows he has no choice," the owner of the room said. "This does concern him, after all."

The owner of the room made his exit straight into his room, closing the door behind him.

The man in the lab coat decided to leave.

"Is he okay…?" The man in the lab coat turned around to see Joanna, looking at her computer normally, but obviously awaiting an answer.

"Sol's a tough guy," the man in the lab coat said. "It's probably just a few scratches, a small bruise or two. Nothing Sol can't handle, right?" It was obvious the both of them still had doubts. Sure, he made it out this time, but what would happen if A.B.A was serious?

Or instead, _when_.

* * *

"My, you eat quite a bit for your size!" Mrs. Lumines soon discovered A.B.A's love of food soon after the first bowl was placed in front of her. A.B.A found out that this was a different kind of food that was liquid like water, but still had solid pieces. Soon she was on her fourth bowl.

"Now, what brings you all the way out here in the middle of this blizzard?" Mrs. Lumines asked.

A.B.A paused, the spoon hovering just moments from her mouth. "Dr. Baldhead," she said, "Dr. Baldhead will help me."

Mrs. Lumines gasped. "Surely you want nothing to do with that madman."

"But Marianna told me to look for Dr. Baldhead. Dr. Baldhead will help me feel better."

Mrs. Lumines just shook her head. The red haired demon certainly wasn't evil, but she had to be insane to want that man. "If you really need to find him, he lives in that old house down the trail. But I doubt he'd see you. I've heard his story, and I can't believe he'd want to help."

A.B.A got up to leave again, but was stopped. Mrs. Lumines didn't say anything. She just handed her a coat and a scarf. A.B.A smiled. "…Thank you, Mrs. Lumines," she said (it was something she learned from the children, if you were wondering). Grabbing Paracelsus from under at least 2 inches of snow (how she found him so fast, even I don't know), she put on her new coat and scarf, and made her way to the mad doctor's home.

* * *

"I hope you like roasted chicken," Lydia said with a bright smile. She set some plates out for Marianna, Cherie, and Sol, then placed the chicken, as well as some side dishes, in the center of the table. She looked just like a young housewife with her frilly apron on. Marianna was unusually quiet, and of course, Cherie was never one to talk. She was eating food. All of the children were eating. After Sol burned down their house, they ended up being distributed among the villagers. For some, it was the first real house they had ever been in. For others, it was probably a painful reminder of their past.

Sol, however, did talk, as he loved to do when a beautiful lady was present.

"This chicken looks very delicious. Do you always go all out for your guests like this?" Sol asked.

Lydia giggled and sat down next to him. "Do you need any help eating with all those bruises?" she asked, looking concerned.

Cherie almost wanted to laugh. She had to admit Sol wasn't a bad looking guy, so she figured that girls like Lydia probably threw themselves at him just like this.

Sol, with his most alluring smile, stared into her eyes. "Oh, would you help me? I really should rest my body a bit." This only made Cherie roll her eyes. He was certainly eating the attention up. Who needed food?

Lydia giggled and placed a fork full of chicken into his mouth. Cherie sighed and looked at Marianna. She wasn't eating much at all. "Worried about A.B.A?" she whispered. Marianna nodded. "Don't worry, kid. If A.B.A can take this guy down on the energy she had, she can take on anyone after she's found Faust."

Marianna smiled slightly. "You're probably right."

They both looked up at Lydia, who was practically in Sol's lap, giggling uncontrollably while Sol continued to flirt. "Adults are so silly," Marianna mumbled.

* * *

A.B.A approached the front door to the old house down the trail. She was pretty far from the town now. She didn't hear a sound from anywhere. It was as if the very wind was terrified of Dr. Baldhead. She wasn't quite sure what to do right then so she set Paracelsus against the wall. "I'll be back, okay?" she told it. She didn't give him a chance to respond (not that he could) before she just pushed the door open and walked inside.

The furniture was covered in white sheets and layers of dust. Cobwebs adorned the staircase and every corner in the room. The window was broken, and a pile of snow slowly grew below it. The floorboards creaked with even the slightest shift of A.B.A's weight. Anyone else would have been scared. A.B.A didn't know to be.

She wandered through each of the rooms before she decided to try upstairs. And that's where she saw some sign of life. There was a room, covered in papers and brown stains that ran down the wall like blood. In the center of the room was a candle on a table. It was half melted, and looked as if it had been used often. But it was lit now. One of the four chairs surrounding the table was pulled out. It looked cleaner than the others, as if someone had been sitting in it. Probably until just recently. A.B.A looked around for a moment, not seeing anything move besides the flame. She just shrugged, and moved towards the entry way.

But the second she stepped out, she heard a creak. She spun around, trying to find the source. She only saw the nearby window, wide open with the tattered curtains reaching towards her. It caused the candlelight to flail wildly. She didn't want the candle to go out for some reason, so she made her way to the window to close it.

As soon as she stepped forward, a syringe whizzed past her neck. It wouldn't have mattered much if the liquid inside the syringe wasn't causing the wall before her to smoke.

* * *

Mizuchi: Sorry Faust didn't actually get a real appearance in this chapter. It took longer to get to this point than I thought it would. Oh, and before I go, can anyone tell me if I'm doing this whole "writing a story" thing right? I feel like my writing is getting boring. -sob- I'll be posting the other two chapters I've completed over this week, so look forward to it.


	7. The Mad Dr Baldhead

Before I post chapter 8, I'm going to be doing some major rennovations on it. It could be a while before I actually post it. I'm currently trying to find out where I want to go with this whole story. Oh well, hopefully I won't make some lame ending like "it was all a dream!" I hate endings like that.

I feel like I'm not even halfway done with this whole story.

And.

This is definately the last chapter for Marianna and Cherie. I mean, appearance-wise.

And also.

Faust is hardcore. Thought you should know that.

* * *

The Mad Dr. Baldhead

Sol woke up to the sensation of warm air on his chest. Sure enough, it was where Lydia had fallen asleep. With his charm, he convinced her to give him a massage for his "sore back". And with Sol, things always lead to another. Which a chuckle, he slipped from under her somehow and quickly put on his clothes. Grabbing his sword, he started to walk out the door and leave Lydia's house.

"You're pretty rude, Sol." He turned around only to see Cherie. She was sitting on the edge of a table with her arms crossed. "You keep Marianna up half the night with your 'activities', and then you leave without so much as a sorry or a thank you to her."

"Thank you? For what?" Sol asked. But he had an idea what. She was probably going to remind him about how Marianna saved him.

But she didn't. "You know, she knew you would go back out to find A.B.A, and strangely, she still packed you some things for your trip." She pointed to a bag sitting by the door. "I don't know why she keeps doing things like this for people like you."

He hesitated for a moment. Cherie was a smart kid for her age. At the very least, she deserved an explanation. "Please don't hold it against me, Cherie. I'm a bounty hunter, and it's my job to find A.B.A before she discovers her true powers and hurts someone innocent." He paused a bit. "Maybe someone like Marianna." Cherie looked away. She had the opportunity to see what A.B.A could accomplish in her best and worst mindset.

Sol stood there silently for a moment. Then he walked towards her. "There was something I was going to give you after I captured A.B.A, but I guess this is as good a time as ever." He handed her a large wad of money.

At first Cherie couldn't believe it. It was the first time in a long time anything had surprised her so much. "It's to pay for a new house, y'know, since I burned yours down and all," Sol continued. "Look, do what you want with it." He turned around and left without another word. He did end up taking the bag of supplies Marianna poured her heart into. For a little girl, she sure knew how to get to him.

Cherie didn't have to speak any more. She just folded up the money and walked back to her room. Perhaps Marianna had something with this 'being nice to everyone' thing.

* * *

A.B.A spun around instinctively only to see Dr. Baldhead (though she had no idea) standing tall in the doorway. "I thought I told you all to leave me alone!" he shouted through the bag over his head. He lunged at A.B.A with his large scalpel.

A.B.A dodged to the side, but she realized she wasn't as mobile with her heavy coat. It got pierced and ripped. She had to take it off. It may have been cold, but she had no choice. If she left it on, there would be no way she could fight back. She clawed at her coat, and eventually managed to get it off. But in that struggle, she didn't notice what Faust was doing. He dashed at her and tackled her right out the window, causing the glass to shatter into tiny little crystals matching the snowflakes.

She landed in a snow bank with barely a scratch. After all, she had been bleeding already, so it wasn't like you could really tell if there were any more injuries. But now, she had her Paracelsus. Her eyes flashed red as she strained to move faster in the deep snow to her weapon. It didn't matter how strong she was. She was nothing without Paracelsus. Her teeth gritted and chattered against the wind.

Meanwhile, Dr. Baldhead was now outside, ready to finish her off. But even for his tall physique, the snow was too much for him as well. Even he found it tiring to make his way to her.

This snow was only serving to anger A.B.A even further. What was once a miracle sent from the gods was now an obstacle to her lover, leaning patiently against the wall of Faust's house. She couldn't take it anymore. With a mighty roar, a ball of light surrounded her and spread out, taking out everything in its wake.

* * *

"It's her!" the man in the lab coat shouted over the intercom. It startled Joanna from her work. "A.B.A! Her powers! She…! It's unbelievable!"

Joanna tried to make sense of things. "Please, I can't understand anything." She tried to speak calmly, but it was hard to keep a low and professional voice with him screaming.

"Just get him. Get _him_. Now!"

Joanna blinked at the intercom before pressing a button. "Sir, it's something about A.B.A…."

The owner of the room walked out just in time to hear the man in the lab coat yelling even more things. "She's tapped into her powers! We just received the results, and there's strong waves emitting from somewhere! The energy waves are off the charts! She's doing it!"

The owner of the room didn't say anything. He only hoped she wasn't destroying a village in the process.

* * *

The snow surrounding them was nothing but a memory. Even the snow falling from the sky briefly stopped. Dr. Baldhead just barely made it out unscathed. He didn't know what she had done or how she did it, but it only seemed to make this game even more interesting. With blinding speed, she rushed over to Paracelsus and lifted him up. She growled before speeding into Dr. Baldhead.

Dr. Baldhead was amazed at this girl. She was wrapped in bandages, and clearly she had been bleeding quite a bit, and by the look of it, whatever made her bleed was a huge wound. She was pale and sickly, almost ghoulish. And she even had what looked like a key lodged right through her head. How she was swinging this something-hundred pound axe like nothing was beyond him. And at blinding speed. He almost couldn't keep up. He didn't know what he unleashed, but he had to trap it again before she eventually got a hold of him. He wasn't one to like living, but even he didn't want to go this way.

I don't think anyone does.

A.B.A wasn't used to such skill. Most the people she had fought were weak mindless soldiers who hid behind their guns and simply followed orders as brutely as possible. They simply did one thing, and that was stand there. At least, that's what they did around her. She started to spend her time putting strategy in her attacks, something she didn't really know how to do. But she had unlimited energy right now. She probably would have had time to perfect that ability.

Dr. Baldhead, still analyzing who she might be and where she may have come from, dodged each move carefully, and in probably the most comical fashion. As a matter of fact, if it weren't happening in real life, one would have thought it was a cartoon of some sort. She may have been tiring him out, but he didn't seem to mind. As a matter of fact, he was enjoying the entertainment. But as you know, good things must come to an end.

Eventually, he had an idea. Ducking down, he stuck his leg out. Her humiliating defeat came about as she tripped on his foot and fell right into Paracelsus. Then she collapsed, unconscious. Faust fell back, exhausted.

"That was the most fun I've had in years," he said.

* * *

Sol spent his silent walk thinking about Marianna and the other children. Lydia had told him that she always wanted to have younger sisters as she was raised in a family of all males. Cherie was very responsible for her age (probably because she took care of all of those children for those years), and Marianna was a very caring little girl. She was glad to take care of them. Even the other villagers were happy to have their new visitors around. There was a newlywed couple that couldn't have children. Lisa and Jeremy were exactly what they wanted. There was an older widow who lost her little boy and husband to the ocean. When Brent walked into her door, it was a miracle. One of the younger women agreed to take a child under protection. When she saw this child was Erica, she couldn't contain her tears. Erica was her sister's unwanted child. She wanted to keep Erica for her sister, but she was just too young at the time. Now this woman felt it was her responsibility to make up all those years little Erica lost. The children now had a future.

Then a thought struck him. It was, after all, because of A.B.A that they ended up in actual homes now. Maybe the red haired demon was actually an angel. Well, a very deadly angel.

He sighed in a sort of attempt to forget about everything but the task at hand. Currently, he had a lot of ground to cover. There were no signs around him to indicate that she had come this way. Not even from that weapon she dragged. He had no clue where she could be. So he just kept walking. Eventually, he would come across a town and all he would have to do was listen for the inevitable rumors to indicate what town she had passed. The wind picked up, tossing snow into his eyes.

It was times like that when he wished he had a helicopter. If he ever got in contact with the Institution, he would definitely make mention of that.

* * *

Dr. Baldhead stared at her in vigilant fashion. Afraid that she would randomly wake up and start attacking, he didn't want to move her. At the same time, he wasn't going to just leave her there if she was going to die. He noticed the blood on her bandages. It was a dark hue, most likely because it was old blood. But then he investigated a little further (careful not to awaken her). In the very center was an increasingly growing wound where new blood was escaping from her. He hadn't attacked her directly, and he certainly hadn't even touched her abdomen, he curiously leaned in closer, so close in fact, he could practically feel her heartbeat without actually touching her.

It was indeed more blood, possibly from exerting her body. What confused Dr. Baldhead, however, was the fact that this blood was just now coming from her. If it were really from her attacking, she would have been bleeding a while ago.

Left with no other choice, he reluctantly and gingerly lifted the unmoving A.B.A (as he was sure she was out cold) and brought her inside. He vaguely remembered a promise he had made to himself about never going back to being a doctor until the body of that man (you know, _that_ man) laid lifeless at his hands. He quickly concluded by saying that he was simply doing a nurse's job, and he hadn't made any promises against that. Leaving poor Paracelsus in the cold, he made his way inside.

Which was easy, since A.B.A had been so kind as to 'shovel' the pathway.

* * *

Now, I would like to take a brief journey to the future. Not the future of Sol, A.B.A, or even the owner of that room. I want to tell you the future of Cherie and little Marianna.

You see, since everyone had homes, Cherie didn't really have much of a use for the money. Sure, she could have kept it for herself and had her new family move to some high class town. Instead, she came up with an idea.

She knew there would be children just like they were, and she knew that another miracle brought by another red-haired demon was most likely not going to happen. So, just three years later, at the age of eighteen, she started work on an orphanage, using the money from Sol as well as some extra she had saved. And just years from that day, it was finished. She decided to work there, taking care of the children just as she did all those years ago when she first ended up on the streets.

Marianna meanwhile grew from an adorable little girl into one of the most beautiful women in that town. Many of the men wanted to take her hand in marriage. But Marianna had other plans. You see, she never forgot A.B.A, and at the age of nineteen she decided to go in search for her to make sure Sol never caught her.

It was during one of her visits in a somewhat large city that she came across the strangest girl with a tail and talking wings. This girl told her about the adventures they had on the seas traveling. Marianna was captivated by the idea and immediately abandoned her search (eventually figuring that A.B.A was probably perfectly fine) and decided to travel with the winged girl who called herself Dizzy. And when she was introduced to the suave playboy Johnny and the energetic child-like May as well as the others, she knew in her heart that was where she belonged.

And don't you worry about the other children. They all grew up to be fine young men and women. Maybe, if you ask around, you can find out what happened to them, too.

* * *

Mizuchi: Yeah, yeah, brief mention of Dizzy, Johnny, and May. They won't show up again. Sorry. Anyway, I've decided that I want this whole story to officially take place three years before A.B.A actually appears in Guilty Gear Isuka. No, that does not mean I have confused the plot (if Marianna had joined at the age of 19, that would mean this story took play way before then). I just think that May, Johnny and the crew would be traveling around even many many years later. I swear, this is not a plot hole with a weak excuse for its existence. I will wait for this game to prove me wrong.


	8. Insanity for the Clueless

Thank you all for your reviews on my story. So far, I've only been receiving the nicest and most productive comments, which may mean that I'm doing something right. I know, I know, Sol's not who you all envisioned. It'll come soon. Trust me. _"What are you talking about?"_ you ask? Oh, just wait and see.

Recently, I've gone and changed all Faust mentions in the previous chapters to 'Dr. Baldhead'. Not that this story happens during the original Guilty Gear. His name will be changing this chapter. Also, check out the major storyline changes done in chapter 7. I guess when I wrote that, I had lost my inspiration. I found it, though (it was behind the computer all along!).

And, you're never going to believe the next GG character that I'm introducing in today's chapter. Love it.

Anyway, this is chapter eight. Wow, I'm at chapter eight. It feels like I just started this thing like 5 years ago.

* * *

Insanity for the Clueless

A.B.A eventually woke up to the feel of cold, hard steel beneath her. For the briefest of moments, she was reminded of the institution...

A.B.A sat up pretty suddenly at that thought, but a few seconds of looking around proved that she was not, in fact, back at the institution. Instead, it seemed like she was back inside the building.

As she slid off what seemed to be a gurney without a cushion, she noticed some stiffness surrounding her body. Looking down, she noticed that her old bandages had been replaced with ones with a slight tinge of yellow, but new nonetheless. She only stood there in confusion for a moment before Dr. Baldhead, wearing typical nurse's garb over his regular clothes, entered. A.B.A readied herself for attack, though she knew she was nothing without Paracelsus.

Dr. Baldhead brought up his hands in defense. "No, no, I'm not here to fight you anymore." A.B.A for a moment didn't move from her spot, but eventually she let her guard back down. She wouldn't have been able to do anything to him anyway.

A.B.A sat back down. "Do you know where Dr. Baldhead is?" she asked, looking around at all the old medical things surrounding her.

Dr. Baldhead was taken aback. "Why, I haven't been called that in so many years! Please, please, call me Faust, protector of the powerless!" He looked at A.B.A, who seemed to be repeating his name, as well as the title he had appointed to himself, in an attempt to remember what he had said. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Faust alone will will alright." A.B.A nodded.

"Now," Faust continued, "I see you've been losing a lot of blood lately. Is this normal for you?" A.B.A sat there silently. She wasn't sure if it was normal or not, as she had never really noticed when it happened. Faust seemed prepared for that and went on. "I imagine you've been feeling weak as a result, correct?"

Now A.B.A nodded in awe. How did he know?

Faust picked up a clipboard some who-knows-where and began scribbling on it in sporatic fashion. He then tossed it away and reached in what seemed like a refridgerator. Could they have been in the kitchen?

"Now, from what I've noticed, this only happens when you do that transformation thing you do. (here, he waved his hand around in an absent circle) Quite possibly, the loss of blood is causing you to become tired. That means you need more blood every time you transform." At this exact moment, he pulled out exactly three pack of blood and handed them to her.

A.B.A held up one of the packs to the dim light and watched as the little air bubble trapped inside sloshed from side to side when she tilted it. Meanwhile, Faust was elsewhere, gathering what looked like a needle with a tube connected to it into a brown doctor bag. "When you transform, you use this blood as fuel, and the used blood leaves your body through the pores. Quite a gruesome sight, you know."

He handed the bag to A.B.A while placing the other two blood packs inside. "So from now on, you'll have to transfuse the blood to your body."

Here he explained how to do it, but for the feint of heart, I won't go through the details.

A.B.A smiled. It was good to know that there was something she could do about it.

Faust smiled with her. "You know, I haven't felt so good helping someone in so long. You know, after this horrible fiasco involving one of my patients (his head twitched a little), I was going to give up my doctoring." Suddenly, he jumped up onto the gurney along side A.B.A creating a loud metalic bang. "I will not let that man suppress my medical prowess! I, Faust, savior of the masses, will go back to what made me great, in spite of... That Man!" He did some sort of dance, which amazed A.B.A to no end. "Yes, I shall be the doctor **_and_** protector of the people! Oh, I feel ever so delightful!"

He continued to dance. A.B.A continued to watch.

* * *

Eventually, the sun came up. The previous snow storm seemed to have ended right on cue.

Sol shielded his eyes to no avail. He was apparently heading right in the direction of the sun, not in some arbitrary direction, but he knew how A.B.A was. She seemed to only travel in one direction, regardless of what obstacles were in her way. That was what was easiest about finding her. What was hard was passing those obstacles, which were almost always the long distances traveling along plains with no towns in sight. Sol concluded that she probably didn't have to eat, or otherwise she would have been long dead. That made things annoyingly difficult. Sol _did_ have to eat.

Instead of following the path exactly, he decided to travel along known paths all while keeping in mind where she would probably be. It might have sounded hard to most people. Sol did it like it was simple arithmetic.

He was also aware that doing so would lengthen the lead she had on him definitely by a few hours. Fortunately, he remembered what Marianna had told her before the fight. Dr. Baldhead. That's the one he had to find. And once he did, it wouldn't be too hard to determine where A.B.A would go after that.

Late into the morning, he finally made it to a town. Well, it was a little bigger than a town, but not quite as big as a city. The place was already in full swing with everyone eager to do something. There was shopping to be done, things to repair, and people to talk to. Sol noticed, for the first time, that the subject of A.B.A was no longer on the people's minds. As a matter of fact, he hadn't heard about her in such a long time. It was almost as if she had never really existed, as most incredible creatures from gossip don't. Her image had faded from the people's minds to give way to other fun stories to tell during those moments with nothing to do.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Sol asked a nearby woman with her three children. The woman looked annoyed as if she had better things to do, though she didn't. "Have you seen a girl with bright red hair dragging a giant golden key around?"

The woman laughed almost maliciously. "You've got to be kidding me!" she scoffed before continuing on. Sol followed.

"I'm serious, ma'am."

The woman turned around with a smirk. "Now that I think about it, I did see her. Why, she stood right here, drinking tea with the Loch Ness monster!"

Sol rolled his eyes. It was obvious that A.B.A hadn't made her way out here, otherwise she'd probably be telling a different story. "Fine then, do you have any clue how far a Dr. Baldhead lives?"

This particular name got her tongue wagging. "Well, I heard he lives in an abandoned building just thirty miles east of here," she said. That would have been all the information he needed, but the woman felt the need to finish anyway. "But I wouldn't advise going to him if you need medical attention. Why, I heard he went crazy after he killed some poor little girl long ago. Just sliced everyone within the vicinity for no reason. What a violent sight." The way she ended it only proved that she hadn't actually seen that particular sight herself. Her children were running around now, playing a game of tag with a few other children, though Sol observed that it may not have mattered what they were doing, as long as they weren't bothering her.

Sol sighed, not really paying attention to what the lady had to say. Instead, right as she was telling him about how Dr. Baldhead had one day gotten so angry with one of his nurses that he cut off her hands and replaced them with feet, he walked away. The woman scoffed again, then left in a huff, dragging one of her nearby children by his scarf in a somewhat passive attempt to get the other children to follow with her.

Whatever the case was, he knew where to go. Hitching a ride on the back of a truck (unknown to the driver himself), he headed off in the direction of A.B.A. He was tired, annoyed, and a little cold. The sooner he got to the girl, the sooner he could go back to what he wanted to do.

And this time, he wouldn't let his guard down.

* * *

With the wedding coming in such a short time, Joanna decided to come into work a little earlier to clear up some paperwork. She sat promptly at her desk, gathering a bunch of folders and getting to work in filing them. She briefly left her desk to file cabinet around the corner. But as she returned, she was surprised to see her boss walking in. She proceeded to greet him, but stopped at the sight of a woman in all red vinyl and an absurd looking hat over her cropped hair. She quickly cowered behind the corner and peeked around.

"A prostitute?" she asked herself, though she didn't really believe it.

The woman in red stopped and glanced at Joanna's desk. She picked up one of the photos Joanna had of her and her fiance on vacation while the owner of the room searched for the key to his door on a loop that seemed to contain somewhere around forty keys looking exactly the same. "She's a very sexy woman," she commented. "She's got that 'hot librarian' thing going for her. Ever thought about having some 'fun' with her?"

Her boss didn't respond, but not because he had thought about it. The woman sighed, knowing it was exactly how he would respond. "I was just trying to make conversation, you know. You're so stuffy sometimes. Lighten up and have fun!"

Her boss didn't lighten up or have fun.

Once he found the key he wanted, he forced open the door and walked in with the woman following behind. Joanna tip-toed behind once the door had slightly closed. She was in luck-her boss hadn't bothered to close the door completely. Leaving the tiniest sliver, Joanna peeked in, curious of the vinyl clad woman whose clothes probably slipped off during the rain.

"So you're telling me that he has no idea who you are?" the woman asked. She was now leaning forward on the ornate desk, allowing the only protection she had over her chest to come forward. From where the owner of the room was sitting, he probably could have gotten an eyeful. He didn't seem interested.

Instead, he leaned back in his plush leather chair and clasped his fingers together. "Well, it's not as if he can see through my image hologram," he said, pulling out a device.

The woman took the opportunity to take the gadget herself, resulting in the owner of the room to go to his original form and the woman to take it on herself. Unfortunately for Joanna, the woman had positioned herself conveniently in front of her boss' face, but she did manage to see his hands, which were oddly glowing blue.

The owner of the room snatched the device from the woman's hands causing him to go back to the form Joanna recognized. "It's not a toy, I-no," he said in a calm, but clearly annoyed tone.

_'Who is this woman?'_ Joanna thought, shifting to get a better view of the situation.

"Fine, fine," I-no said. She pouted and sat down on the desk. "So, how goes the search for Project GRS?"

The owner of the room sighed.

"That bad, huh?" I-no said, though she didn't look a bit concerned. In fact, she seemed busy cleaning her nails with one of her longer nails. "Why don't you just let me get her myself? I mean, it's not like you don't know where she is."

The owner of the room looked down, but had a slight grin as he leaned his head upon his clasped hands. "Actually, I'd much rather see what A.B.A is capable of."

"But what about Frederick? Won't he get hurt if he's in the way? You said he was important to your 'plans'."

Joanna furrowed her brow. She thought Sol was the only one who her boss sent after A.B.A. Had her boss secretly sent someone else while she wasn't around?

"Now, now, you forget that as a Gear, there's no way he would remain injured for long. Besides, have you ever known Frederick to get himself seriously hurt?"

I-no giggled. "Sol Badguy. He certainly is quite the man, or Gear..." She shrugged absently. "Whatever he is."

Joanna gasped, then covered her mouth, hoping they hadn't heard her. They had however.

"You hear that?" I-no asked. Without so much as a command, she stood up to investigate.

Joanna quickly rushed around her desk and hid under it, very positive that she wasn't supposed to hear any of that, but unsure of what would happen if they discovered her.

I-no came out not a moment too soon as she stepped out with the owner of the room following behind. Neither of them really looked too hard though. Until...

"Hey, I don't remember these folders being here before..." she commented absently.

Joanna winced. She had forgotten that she set her folders on the desk when she went to spy on her boss. They would discover her for sure. She shifted over to behind the chair, hoping they wouldn't come around.

I-no didn't have the chance to. The owner of the room simply dismissed it, as he never really trusted the vinyl wearing woman's judgment of her surroundings. "It doesn't matter. I want you to keep an eye on Frederick. Make sure he gets whatever information he needs when he needs it, but make sure he doesn't find out about you."

I-no did some sort of a fake salute, then winked and blew a kiss before Joanna heard her heels clicking into the distance. The owner of the room headed back into his room and closed the door-this time, completely.

Joanna emerged from her hiding spot a few minutes later once she knew that no one else would come around. She was trembling hard, and she held her arms together in a futile attempt to stop it.

"Sol is a Gear? Impossible. That's impossible... That war was over a hundred years ago..." she said, her eyes wavering. "Those Gears ceased to function after the defeat of Justice. Sol can't be..." She struggled to sit down, and even when she did, she felt like she had to get back up. Sol was a Gear whose name was Frederick. What did that mean? Did that mean A.B.A was a new Gear? No, the creation of Gears were halted after the war.

So, what was A.B.A?

* * *

Mizuchi: So were you all surprised about the ending? Mwahaha. Although I would really like to know That Man's true role in A.B.A's life in the actual game series. It would be cool if the idea that I have is right. What's my idea? Oh, you'll see. Oh yeah, and I hope you guys are all happy for A.B.A, because things are about to get progressively worse coming up. Get ready.


	9. The Golden Eyed Chef

Well, I'm sorry for the long hiatus. I worked on chapter 9 years ago, but when it got corrupted, my desire to work on it left as well…. Lately, there's been some renewed interest in this little story of mine. It's about time I finally get back to it.

* * *

So, for those of you that didn't skip past all of my rambling, thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. And also, thanks for all of your wonderful comments. I'm trying so hard to make this story entertaining for everyone reading this.

The Golden Eyed Chef

"Well, my good friend, I must be off," Faust said. A.B.A and Faust were now standing outside of the rickety house, planning on going their own directions. Now that Faust had been re-energized by A.B.A's need of his services, he had decided to go on his own adventure to "find himself". He had already envisioned himself saving various people in different ways in almost a slide show fashion. He even somehow had taken a mental picture of himself in footie pajamas with the back flap hanging down. "Oops, how did that get in there?" he said after minutes of silence.

A.B.A didn't respond. She wouldn't have even if she knew how to. Nevertheless, Faust was her friend now, and it didn't matter what he did or said.

"And where will you go?" Faust asked. A.B.A shrugged her shoulders. She never knew where she was going, just as long as she wasn't going back. "Well," Faust continued, "I hear there's a marvelous restaurant over there." He pointed left. Then right. Then up. Finally, he decided on pointing right. He pulled out his umbrella.

A.B.A didn't know what a restaurant was, but if Faust told her it was a good place to be, then she would go.

"Ah, well, then I must be going. I've got a world to save, you know." He opened the umbrella in his hand and held it above his head. At first, nothing happened, but suddenly, he lifted up and away. "Toodle-loo~!" he shouted in falsetto.

A.B.A watched in amazement as he floated above the house, crashed into his weathervane and struggled to get untangled. A.B.A was convinced.

Faust could do anything.

* * *

"Hey you!" Sol was awakened by the feel of someone shaking his arm vigorously. Sol wasn't used to having anything wake him up, so needless to say, he was rather pissed.

"What?" Sol asked, irritated. He didn't even bother to open his eyes to the sight of a large man with hairy knuckles angrily trying to wake him. He was tired, and he would wake up when he was good and ready.

"You better get the hell up, or I'll make you!" The man's face turned red. This wasn't the first time someone had hitchhiked on his truck. Once, he caught some barely twenty year old back there. After the boy had hurled a few insults in his direction, the man saw it fit to deal with the situation. A swift punch to the face became a permanent reminder to the boy from then on.

Sol was no different. Sure, he was older, but just as annoying. How dare they think they could use up his gas and then walk off without even a thank you? What was he, a chauffeur service?

After a few more seconds of shaking him, the man couldn't contain his rage anymore. He pulled back his fist and pushed it forward at full force...

...Just as Sol rolled to the right. The man's hand hit the truck bed, creating an audible crunch sound. The man held his wrist in agony.

Sol sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, okay, I'm going. Whatever." He walked off, leaving the man to his pain. As you could probably tell, this was all part of Sol's plan. No one wakes Sol before he's ready.

The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in a town, but rather some sort of rest area for people.

"Good place for information…" Sol commented to the air around him. But he wasn't going to actually talk to anyone about her. He knew that by now if they weren't already talking about it, she hadn't showed up. Perhaps A.B.A was learning to stay out of the towns. Whatever the case was, his simple 'search and recover' mission was proving to be more of a challenge than he originally thought. Instead, Sol opted to ask about Dr. Baldhead. Unlike A.B.A, he wasn't a myth. At least, Sol hoped he wasn't.

"I heard he's over 11 feet tall! And he covers his face with a bag so no one knows what he looks like."

"He carries an overgrown scalpel, and he's got one mechanical eye. It probably has X-ray vision or something."

"Even though he's a doctor, he's actually an amazing fighter. Once, he fought some giant guy probably 3 times your size and he won!"

All comments he heard, none of which he believed. Maybe Dr. Baldhead was the new A.B.A. But when he asked where Mr. Baldhead lived, no one could really tell. Sol sighed and let it go. He was still tired, and it looked like he was going to have to head somewhere else for more information. Maybe he'd get lucky. Maybe she'd get herself turned around and she'd head in his direction.

"So you're looking for Dr. Baldhead, huh?"

Sol turned around to a scrawny boy probably in his early teens. The boy tried to look cool by leaning against a tree and chewing on a piece of long grass. He looked off at an imaginary object in the distance. It was actually a rather cliché pose, and Sol had to do everything in his power not to laugh at his attempts.

"So what do you know, boy?" Sol asked with a smirk. He decided to humor the kid, especially since this was his only lead so far.

"Well, up north, there's this run down house, way out in the clearing. I've seen him around there. And also, don't be so quick to dismiss what everyone's telling you. Every single word of it is true."

The boy lifted his leg to place his foot on the tree he was against, but he staggered as he did it. He managed to gain his composure, and he played it cool by crossing his arms.

Sol crossed his arms with him. Could this kid actually be trusted? Still, it was the best bit of information he had gotten in quite a while, so he went with it. "Thanks, kid," Sol said as he walked off.

"Wait!" The kid shouted, A. his pose for fear. "You better watch out, Dr. Baldhead is insane! You better be careful…"

Sol grinned. "You don't worry about me, kid," Sol said, resisting the urge to ruffle the boy's hair. Without another word, he headed off in the direction the boy told him.

The boy watched Sol as he walked off, and once he felt he was a good distance away, he sighed. He only hoped he could become half the brave and strong man Sol was. "That's it, I'm gonna do 50 push ups a day!" he told himself.

* * *

Over the next few days, A.B.A had continued her arbitrary path in the direction Faust had sent her in. She was still not quite in the habit of taking breaks, but she had learned how her body worked, and when she felt too tired to walk, instead of falling flat on her face like she would have, she would lie down on the grass below. The weather was rather mild considering the season, so A.B.A didn't feel too chilly. Paracelsus, on the other hand, was frozen to the touch, almost as if he had absorbed every bit of cold in the air. In A.B.A's mind, she could see him shivering, but there was nothing she could do. Every time she tried to embrace him, the bitter cold from the metal would hurt her skin. It pained her to see her Paracelsus so miserable. "I'll find a place for you soon, just wait," A.B.A said, staring worriedly into his eyes. It was unknown what his response was as he is an inanimate object, and we can't read A.B.A's mind, but whatever it was, it was enough to convince her to move a little faster. You would think that by dragging this large golden key around for so many months, you'd think she should be bulkier than she was, but she was as frail as the day she left the facility.

It was a few hours later before the familiar glow of street lights appeared before her. Directly in front of her just 20 yards away was a small building with a bunch of windows. No one was around, but A.B.A could smell food cooking. Her mouth salivated, and she lifted Paracelsus above her head and went into a sprint, this sudden burst of energy just enough to get her to the door. She stood before the fancy stained glass door which depicted the image of a girl rising up from a water lily. She looked up, then down, panting uncontrollably.

Then she passed out.

When A.B.A came to, she looked up to see the vision of a young woman staring back with her golden brown eyes.

"You are okay, aru!"

The girl, long hair looped around and dressed in a very short Chinese inspired dress, held up the peace sign and grinned before she helped A.B.A up from the bench she was lying on. A.B.A looked around in a daze. The scents of delicious food surrounded her, so of course the first words out of her mouth to this enthusiastic stranger was "Do you have something to eat?"

The Chinese girl jumped up and grinned again. "You are in luck, aru!" she proclaimed. "You are my first customer! I'm going to give you the house special!" She sprinted to the back for a moment, and returned with a large platter balanced precariously upon her delicate fingers. Swiftly and expertly, she placed each plate down without spilling a drop or ruining the presentation of each dish. Her grin never left her face as she outstretched her hand over the display of foods before A.B.A. "Enjoy, aru!"

A.B.A didn't pay any mind to the presentation as she dug in to the plate before her. Noodles, and soup, and vegetables, and treats of all kind, A.B.A finished the whole lot as the Chinese girl stood before her, taken A. by how much this thin girl was taking in, but still keeping the smile plastered on her face.

Once A.B.A finished, the Chinese girl clasped her hands together. She couldn't wait to find out how much this would all come out to. She rushed to the back, bringing in another plate with a decadent chocolate cake with plenty of frosting, and a perfect looking cherry on top.

"It's complementary!" the Chinese girl said enthusiastically.

A.B.A didn't know what 'complementary' meant, but she ate it anyway. I don't think I have to tell you that she liked this 'complementary' a lot.

Satisfied that the red haired mummy woman had enjoyed her meal, the Chinese girl set her bill down beside her, then trotted off, inspired to keep cooking. A.B.A picked up the paper. She looked at the strange numbers and names, then sniffed it. It had the faint scent of garlic and mushrooms, probably because the Chinese girl had kept her checks on the table where she prepared her meals. She shrugged her shoulders and took a bite out of it. It had no taste, but somehow A.B.A still found it delicious.

The Chinese girl returned, then looked around.

"What happened to the check, aru?" she asked. She lifted up A.B.A's empty plate of chocolate crumbs, then under the table.

"Is that what that thin thing was called? It was delicious. May I have another?" A.B.A asked innocently. The Chinese girl stared at A.B.A. Did she really eat that piece of paper? Well, it would explain where it had gone, but how gross!

"That was your check! You do not eat checks, aru!" the Chinese girl proclaimed. Perhaps the woman hadn't enjoyed her meal at all. Maybe the woman was prone to eating anything. The thought of that deflated her ego a little. Maybe her food tasted just like that paper….

A.B.A looked quizzically. She didn't know what a check was or what it did. She just knew it tasted great. Where could she find more of these 'checks'?

"It tells you how much you owe for the meal, aru! You have to pay me for all of that food you ate!"

A.B.A stared at the Chinese girl. Paying? She didn't know how.

The Chinese girl gasped (almost too dramatically). "You don't mean to say, you have no money, right? Right, aru?" A.B.A's blank stare confirmed her fears. This woman was broke.

The Chinese girl fell back onto the bench at the table next to A.B.A's. All of that hard work, and she had just served about $150 worth of food to a poor woman with no taste in cuisine. She started to cry.

A.B.A watched the woman as she sobbed in her hands. With a blink, A.B.A stood up and went over to the Chinese woman and gave her a hug. The woman's head shot up in shock. This was completely unexpected.

"Why are you crying? Did I do something to make you sad? Don't cry anymore," A.B.A said.

* * *

After drying her eyes, the Chinese girl bounced back to her perky self.

"The name is Kuradoberi Jam!" (Here, she posed, as she tended to do when introducing herself) "I'm going to be a world famous chef!"

As usual, these were all just words to A.B.A, but she smiled all the same. "Then I think you will be a great chef!" A.B.A proclaimed.

Those words made Jam's heart soar. "Do you really mean it, aru?" Jam asked, though she didn't wait for an answer. She was already dancing around in reverie.

A.B.A already knew she liked this person.

Jam suddenly stopped. "Heeeey, wait a minute!" She abruptly turned to A.B.A. "You're just trying to butter me up! Well, it's not going to work, aru! You can't pay, you must work off your debts!"

A.B.A blinked at Jam.

"Don't you get it?" Jam stepped before A.B.A and placed her hands on her hips. "You must work for me to pay off the food you ate!"

A.B.A didn't really understand, but she nodded anyway. "A.B.A will work for Kuradoberi Jam!"

With a bright smile, Jam took a broom and handed it to A.B.A. "You can start by helping me clean, aru. Customers are bound to come pouring in soon!"

A.B.A looked at the broom. Sweeping. She had seen it a few times in her travels, but she didn't know what it was for. She took an arbitrary stab at it, sweeping the broom wildly.

Jam rushed over to her side. "No, no, you must do it _elegantly_, otherwise you'll only put the dust back into the air! Don't you know how to sweep?"

A.B.A shook her head. Actually, she didn't really understand much of what she had even said.

Jam put her hand on her hip. "Then what can you do?"

A.B.A thought for a second. "I can eat."

Jam smacked her hand against her forehead. "A lot of good that will do me! Where are you even from, that you don't know basic skills like sweeping?" A.B.A began to answer, but Jam cut her off anyway. "Well, no matter, then I will just have to teach you how to be the best cleaner ever! I can do it, aru!"

"If it's Kuradoberi Jam, it can be done!" A.B.A responded. Jam felt her energy (ego) rise again.

Jam was astounded by A.B.A's ability to learn. In a matter of mere hours, A.B.A had mastered not only sweeping, but mopping, dusting, and even dish washing. Jam started to believe that maybe this girl was a good luck charm of sorts.

"A.B.A, you have made me the happiest girl in the world!" Jam proclaimed and punctuated with a hug. Actually, Jam was a very physical girl. It seemed that she was quite the people person, and slowly, customers started appearing. Business was starting to pick up, bit by bit, and while it was all due to word of mouth based around both the food and the gorgeous chef herself, Jam chalked it up to A.B.A. In a mere two days, her shop had become the talk of town.

As a token of her thanks, Jam gave A.B.A a dress to wear during work. A.B.A looked at it in awe. It was as deep red as her hair, and practically made her skin glow against it. "In my country, it's called a cheongsam! I want to bring a bit of China to this country, so please wear it!" Without waiting for a response, Jam rushed A.B.A to the back room and forced it on her.

"A.B.A, you are so beautiful, aru!" Jam proclaimed as she guided A.B.A in front of the reflection in the window. The clothes were a new sensation to A.B.A's usually unprotected skin. It wasn't like the coat she had before…. It was prettier. Yes, though A.B.A's emotions had long ago been sealed away, something about seeing this dress made her confidence go up. Perhaps this was the secret to Jam's energy. She immediately ran to Paracelsus' side to show it off. "Do you like it, Paracelsus? Do I look pretty?"

Jam blinked at A.B.A. "You are always mumbling to that giant key. Is he your best friend?"

A.B.A thought for a moment. Friend? A.B.A had many friends in her time away from the facility, but Paracelsus was different. Was there a word for someone who meant more to a person than a friend? A.B.A shook her head. "Paracelsus is…. It's unsure what Paracelsus is to me. He is a friend, but he is different. He is special."

Jam thought for a second at her words. "Could it be that you love this key?"

"Love? Is that what this is?"

Jam grinned. "It must be love, aru."

A.B.A pondered those words, then began to smile herself. "Yes, I love Paracelsus. He is everything to me."

Jam hugged A.B.A. "I'm so happy for you!" To Jam, even if A.B.A was a strange, mummy _objectophile_, A.B.A was still her good luck charm. Really, as long as she didn't destroy her new restaurant, she didn't care what A.B.A did on her free time.

Anyway, it was obvious that A.B.A loved this place. The air always smelled delicious, and if the people couldn't finish their food, she was allowed to finish the rest for free. "Paracelsus! This is a good place! Can we live here?" Her golden friend just seemed to smile and say "I'm happy for you, A.B.A." Maybe he was just glad to be out of the cold air? No, of course not, Paracelsus is just a lifeless axe, silly.

As the evening was winding down and the people started to return to their homes, Jam prepared for lock up. "Such a full day today, huh A.B.A?" No matter how many meals she cooked, she was always full of energy. It was like nothing could ever get her down.

There was a knock on the door.

"I'm sorry, we are closed for today! You must come bright and early tomorrow!" Jam shouted through the door.

"Jam, it's me. Could you please open up for me?"

The voice behind the door made Jam become even more excited than she usually was. "Ohhh, you're here!" and she practically dove at the door.

A.B.A watched as she finished off another customer's plate. Jam was always fun to watch.

The man who entered was young, a gorgeous blonde-haired, blue eyed person, dressed in white with bits of blue. A.B.A tried to compare him to someone else she had known, but there was no other. He seemed eloquent, like he was a prince from some far off country.

Not that A.B.A knew any princes.

"A.B.A! This man here is my friend Ky Kiske! Ky, you must meet my good luck charm! Oh, and I'll make you something to eat! Sit down and relax, aru, you're always so stuffy!"

Ky immediately began to blush. "I-it's fine, J-Jam, I was only visit… ing…." But of course, his It wasn't like he had never experienced this from her before, but he still wasn't used to it. He was always working and hardly ever came into contact with females, so women in general made him nervous, especially bubbly girls like Jam. He knew he was defeated from the start.

A.B.A watched the man, though that was all she would do at the moment, with a full plate before her.

"I will make you a great meal! You get the special friend discount! Sit down and relax!" and without a second's delay, Jam was already halfway to the kitchen.

Ky sighed. Jam was like that back when he met her before as well, back when they made that deal so long before.

A few moments of knives chopping and water boiling, and Jam came back with a delicious platter of food. "Eat it up! Make me very happy, aru!"

Ky couldn't possibly tell her that there was too much for him to eat, or that he wasn't all that hungry, so reluctantly, he started in on his meal. After his first bite, he awkwardly smiled. This was enough for Jam.

"A.B.A! It is because of Ky that I have this very restaurant, aru!" she said, practically dancing. "Ky Kiske has made my dream come true."

"I didn't do much of anything, really…." Ky said, trailing off.

"Not much of anything! Those are all lies he speaks, A.B.A. He let me claim the reward money, even though he took Dizzy away."

"B-but you were the one who defeated her!"

"But you are from the Order, you could have taken the money away! You know, A.B.A, Ky seems really stuffy and serious, but he's a very nice person! He took Dizzy to a safe place, he trusts her you know, even though she's a gear." Jam nodded in agreement to her own comment.

A.B.A didn't know who this Dizzy person was, or why it was important that she be safe, but if Jam said Ky was nice, then Ky was definitely nice.

* * *

Sol's tip panned out, and after a couple days, he came across a dilapidated house (with the help of a woman whose heart he charmed his way into, otherwise she surely would have thought he was all kinds of crazy. Actually, this was the cause of a loss of a day, in fact). He knocked on the door, but on his third tap, the door came open. He shrugged and let himself in.

The place was empty, but there were many clues towards the fact that it hadn't been empty for too long. The dust in comparison, the melted candles, a medical tray in the middle of what looked like a living room, it was obvious, maybe they had been gone for a few days, but someone was still there quite recently.

Upstairs, he noticed more or less of the same thing. Nevertheless, it was empty now, and had been for a while, and there was still no proof that A.B.A herself had been there. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something flailing in the wind. At first, he brushed it off as the wind moving a curtain, but he decided to humor himself anyway. He noticed a shimmering syringe stuck in the wall, with a trail etched into the wall. He figured the liquid inside was a kind of acid, and it was confirmed as he looked at the burn marks on the floor. Being a former scientist had its perks sometimes.

Piled on the floor seemed to be some kind of heavy fabric. Normally, Sol wouldn't have paid any mind to it, but when he really thought about it, it didn't make any sense, as a doctor wouldn't really have much use for cloth like that, and there didn't seem to be any other clothes around. He picked it up. There were a lot of holes, but this was clearly a coat. Some kind of crazy fashion sense? No, these were cuts, and upon closer inspection, he noticed deep red strands of hair attached.

A.B.A was definitely here once, but once again, he had just missed her.

With a heavy sigh, he dropped the coat and proceeded to head outside. He could always contact Joanna to find out if they knew anything anyway, but he was a bit irked that all of this traveling had been for absolutely nothing….

* * *

I-No paced around the broken down building in disgust. "What sort of a weirdo doctor would ever want to live here anyway? Looks more than shady to me."

"I didn't ask you for your commentary," said the voice through her headset. Why of course, the owner of that room would be keeping in touch with our favorite red witch. "Where is Frederick?"

"Yeah, yeah…." I-No waved her hand nonchalantly. "He's inside, probably investigating. It doesn't look like that doctor is around here anymore either. There's no way we're going to get the two to meet again, so we'll probably have to interfere again. So where's A.B.A anyway?"

"Looks like she headed west. She's staying at some restaurant. She'll probably stay there for a while."

"Oh, why can't I be surveying _her_? I could go for a nice meal myself…."

"Are you complaining?"

I-No shrugged and grinned. "No, it was just a casual mention. Anyway, I'm guessing if no one is here, Sol's probably headed out as well. I'm coming back." She took off her headset and prepared her guitar Marlene for flight.

That's how it would have normally gone.

* * *

Calling upon the power of flame, he knocked I-No down flat, and before she had a chance to regain her senses from the surprise attack, Sol stood over her, his sword hovering above her chest. Marlene had tumbled a distance away from the impact. "Why are you here?" He asked, though it was clearly more of a demand for an answer than a simple inquiry.

"Why Sol, is that you? I hadn't even noticed!" I-No said with a grin. She tried not to show her fear of the man, though she didn't do quite as good a job as she had wanted.

Sol, not wanting to play her game, bent over her and lifted her up by the ring holding her top together. "Why are you here, I-No?" He asked a little more calmly than before, but still as dangerous sounding as ever.

"Just coincidence, really," I-No stated. She had now managed to maintain her nonchalant demeanor, though she didn't know why it was so important not to show Sol she was very much intimidated by his tall, menacing stature.

Sol let his anger slip. With great force, he pushed her forward, sending her flying into the side of some stone wall, probably a fence of some sort. Tears instinctively welled up in her eyes. Her head hurt from the impact. She had seen Sol angry before. This was pure rage.

"I don't think you want me to ask again, I-No," he said coolly.

I-No couldn't see clearly past her tears. She had seen Sol angry many times before, but never had he managed to get his hands on her. Now she was genuinely scared for her life. Would he kill her? She had to answer quickly, but she wasn't so scared that she would reveal the truth about her boss and A.B.A. Sol would just kill her. That Man, however, would opt to torture her until she sought out ways to kill herself if he ever found out that she told him.

'Think fast, I-No' she told herself as she gasped for air. It hurt to breathe. Had he broken her rib?

Sol wasn't far away. In mere moments he would be right in front of her, and then... I-No didn't even want to think about those possibilities. The dust settled around her, creating a haze about Sol. If only she could get her hands on her guitar... She rolled over and tried to crawl in the direction of where it flew. She was lucky that the moon was mostly full that night, otherwise she would surely be dead.

Sol remained silent and took his time approaching her. A.B.A had managed to prove herself as no longer a threat to the world. She could wait.

I-No coughed. Blood streamed from the corner of her mouth, looking even more vivid against her pale peach skin. Perhaps a punctured lung? She now had no doubt of how much Sol hated her, and as her tears mixed with the blood, she only had one thing on her mind: could she get out of this intact?

"I told you that you didn't want me to ask again, but I guess you just don't get it. So I-No, _why are you here?_" His tone was cruel and cold. He cracked his knuckles and readied his sword.

* * *

Jam and Ky today. I figured I'd throw him in, kind of a way to explain how they'd know each other. And apologies if you're annoyed by the random 'aru's in there. I read that Jam tends to add it to her sentences, because that's the stereotype that Japanese people have of Chinese people trying to speak their language. I wanted to keep it, because it's kind of a cute quirk. Apparently while I was away, a lot of their stories gained some details, making it a bit easier to fit people together. But I think outside of casual mentions, there might be only one other character making an appearance. If you know Jam's story, you'll know who's on his way.

A great big thank you to all of the fans of this story, I'm so happy that even now, people are interested in how it goes.


End file.
